


My Missing Puzzle Piece

by m00n_river



Category: Glee
Genre: Boys In Love, Cheerio Blaine Anderson, Cheerleaders, Cute, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Glee - Freeform, High School, Jealous Blaine Anderson, Jock Kurt Hummel, M/M, McKinley High Cheerios, Not Canon Compliant, POV Alternating, POV Blaine Anderson, POV Kurt Hummel, POV Third Person, Rewrite, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, William McKinley High School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 112,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26159920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m00n_river/pseuds/m00n_river
Summary: A Klaine rewrite of Season Two - Blaine Anderson is the co-captain of the McKinley High Cheerios, well on his way to making it to his dream school, NYADA. But mysterious transfer student, Kurt Hummel, quickly steals Blaine's heart with his good looks and witty sense of humour, causing the usually so confident cheerleader to blush and fumble over his words. And when Kurt becomes the kicker of the McKinley High titans, he is officially smitten. Blaine knows how he feels about Kurt, but does Kurt feel the same way?
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Kurt Hummel/Sebastian Smythe, Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce
Comments: 62
Kudos: 75





	1. Introduction

_It’s a new school Kurt, a chance to reinvent yourself. I know this isn’t what you wanted, but it’s for the best._

Kurt’s father's words echoed around his head as he made his way through the halls of McKinley High. From what he could gather, the school was not a particularly nice place. The hallways seemed busier, the students seemed less friendly, and the teachers didn't seem to care that he didn't know his way around. Still, it was like his dad said, a chance to reinvent himself.

Staring at the ground, Kurt continued to walk through the halls. Nobody seemed to care that he was unfamiliar. Nobody cared that he was unusual. Nobody seemed to notice him. Kurt actually glanced down a couple times to check that he was still there; that he hadn’t turned invisible. Nope- still very much there. Eventually, he found the locker he was searching for, he squinted to read the number that was etched out above the dial.

_206_

Perfect. Kurt delicately placed his books onto the small shelf provided for him. He made sure to order them alphabetically, it would be easier to find his textbooks that way. Once he was content with his organisation, he turned and surveyed the school around him.

The halls were crowded with people, Kurt thought that the chaos was perfect, like a movie. There were that couple that was always making out on the left side of the hall, and about ten feet farther down, the cliquey girls. Opposite, the jocks, and between them, the parade of band geeks with their huge instrument cases. There were the aerospace tech kids who never did anything but make paper airplanes, and the fashion kids that wheeled mannequins and clothing racks down the halls. Kurt couldn’t help but feel more of a longing for that particular group, but wasn’t sure about joining it yet. He needed to figure out who was where on the high school food chain before thinking about joining any clubs.

The warning bell for second period snapped him out of his thoughts, he slammed his locker shut and started on his way to French class. He just needed to get through high school, and then he could go off and become some kind of designer for Vogue, or something equally as fantastic. He just needed to get through high school.

***

Blaine leant up against his locker, laughing at something Finn had said. He couldn’t really remember what he was laughing at, but it was absolutely hilarious.

“... and then Puck literally fell flat on his face! It was priceless!” Finn chortled, he was almost in tears from laughing so hard.

“I shouldn’t be laughing at Puck’s pain, but he had it coming!” Blaine returned, as the two boys fist bumped. The laughter finally died down, and the two boys had to catch their breath. Finn patted the shorter boy on the back, making them both chuckle. Finn had always been a very close friend of Blaine’s. When the younger boy had transferred to McKinley the year before, he had been cornered by a bunch of the neanderthals on the football team, and Finn protected him. After an awkward thank you and ‘bro hug’, the two had become very good friends.

“So how was your Summer?” Finn asked carefully, giving the raven haired boy a shifty look out of the corner of his eye. Blaine knew why. The Glee club had found out before vacation about Blaine’s struggle at home, how his father didn’t accept him when he came out. His mother was supportive, she didn’t seem to be in love with the idea, but she hugged him and was happy for him. That was all Blaine wanted from his father, but apparently he would never get it. He leant his head up against his locker, a sigh escaping his lips.

“It was… uneventful.” That was a lie. It was very eventful. His father had gotten him a football, and told him that he should quit the cheerleading squad and join the McKinley Titans, and maybe then he would get a girlfriend. Of course, they got into a big argument, there was shouting and tears. His father tore up his cheerios uniform, right in front of Blaine’s eyes as he cried. Blaine knew what his father was trying to do. Did he think that he could change him? That he could pretend that it never happened? Apparently so.

“Cheerios practice at lunch today Blaine.” Quinn’s voice snapped Blaine out of his thoughts. He looked up, and just caught the blonde walking off. Blaine nodded his head curtly in the girl’s direction, standing up and straightening his leather satchel. The warning bell for second period reminded both the boys to get going, Finn grabbed his books from his locker

“I’ll see you later dude.” Finn patted the shorter boy on the shoulder, before he stalked off in the opposite direction. Blaine said a hurried goodbye, taking his own books from his locker and swiftly walking down the hall to his math class. Blaine was feeling perfectly content with himself, only rolling his eyes when he had to side-step past a sickeningly sweet couple, holding each other in a tight embrace, sharing chaste kisses as they murmured obnoxious, fluffy nonsense to each other. As much as Blaine hated PDA, he couldn’t help but feel a wanting feeling tug at his insides.

He didn’t like to admit it, but he wanted a boyfriend. Badly. He wanted someone who he could trust with everything. Someone to hold him, and kiss him, and love him. Was that too much to ask? It was even worse in high school, he had all these feelings built up inside of him that he couldn’t act on. The only reason he was safe from ridiculing and blatant homophobia was because of the firm support of his polyester cheerios uniform. Nobody would dare lay a finger on him, mostly out of fear of dealing with Coach Sue. But Blaine didn’t like that, he wanted so desperately to walk down the halls hand in hand with the guy that he liked. He wanted to slow dance at his prom. He feared that would never happen. And even if he fell in love with someone, would they love him back? Because right now, Blaine felt unlovable.

***

Kurt clutched his books to his chest as he took his seat in French class. He made sure to sit in the second row, that way he had a good enough view of the teacher, but didn’t look like a complete nerd. He unpacked his things, and ran his hand over the pages of his French book lovingly. He really did love the language. When he was younger, his mother tried and tried to teach him French, she was bilingual herself, so was determined for her son to follow in her footsteps. However Kurt was stubborn and refused to learn, much like his father. But when she passed away, Kurt made it his mission to learn it. He felt that speaking like she did made him feel closer to her, it felt like he was continuing her legacy.

“Bonjour class! Comment allez-vous?” The teacher walked in, and Kurt had to choke back a laugh. He was almost ninety percent sure this lady didn’t look at what she was putting on when she had gotten dressed that morning. The woman was draped in a hideous shawl, she wore big pearls and tacky beads around her neck, matched with a hideous purple blouse. She had thick rimmed, large round glasses that magnified her already huge eyes. Her hair stood on end, frizzy and sticking out in all different places. If a cat had eaten the woman’s hair and puked it back out, then let it dry in the sun, it would look just the same.

“Bonjour Madame Trumane, Je vais bien… uh…” The class trailed off, muttering their responses, all looking extremely bored. The crazy looking woman - Madame Trumane - turned from the class, seemingly satisfied with their response.

“Alright, I’m going to be writing down some of the verbs we’ve been working on, and I want you to conjugate them. Now I don’t want to hear any complaining, you all know how to do this. Prêt? Commencer.” There was a rustling of papers and pens as the class got to work. Kurt skimmed over the words on the board, smiling contently to himself as he finished the work easily. He could do this in his sleep, although he didn’t want to shout it from the rooftops quite yet. Kurt was staring at his page, pretending that he was struggling with the task, brushing the tip of his pen against the paper, but not connecting ink to it, when a conversation between three cheerleaders that were sitting next to him caught his attention.

“I don’t know why you’re dating man boobs, Quinn, you’re way out of his league.” A latina girl said to a blonde cheerleader, who was staring at her page.

“He’s nice, and we’d be a shoe-in for prom King and Queen.” The girl said, another blonde cheerleader who was sat with them leaned in closer, speaking in barely a whisper

“You guys do know that those crown’s are actually made of plastic right?” Kurt scoffed. This girl definitely didn’t seem to be very bright.

“Yes honey, we know.”

“Hey, new kid, have you done the work?” Kurt snapped his head up, to see the blonde haired cheerleader speaking to him. Judging by the conversation he had heard, her name was Quinn.

“Uh, yeah..”

“Can you help me, I’m stuck on Question 5, and these idiots can’t tell the difference between une amand and une amend.” Kurt laughed, scooting his seat closer to the three girls. He quickly scanned over Quinn’s work, it was mostly right thus far, but he could see where she had gone wrong. He pulled out his pen and corrected it, receiving a genuinely grateful ‘thank you’ from the girl. He was about to go back to his place, when one of the cheerleaders, the latina girl, stopped him.

“Nice broach, where’d you get it, you’re Mom’s closet?” She said snarkily, laughing at her own joke. Kurt’s face twisted into an evil smirk.

“Yeah actually, it was my Mom’s. She’s dead now so I doubt she’d mind that I was wearing it.” Kurt couldn’t help but feel pleased with his comeback as the girl recoiled back into her seat, looking guilty.

“I’m sorry about Santana, she’s a bitch.” Quinn placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, which to say the least, surprised Kurt. People at his old school, cheerleaders especially, would’ve either beaten him up or insulted him into oblivion.

“I’m sorry that your Mom is dead, I bet she’s up in heaven with my guinea pig. Actually, he’s probably in hell, he had a porn addiction.” The ditsy cheerleader said in a dreamy voice, she twirled her hair around her finger, cocking her head to the side and giggling. Kurt smiled nicely and held out his hand for her to shake.

“Well that very nice of you, uh…”

“I’m Brittany.”

“Kurt.” Kurt went to release Brittany's hand, but as he pulled away, her grip only tightened. She stroked his palm with her thumb, looking at it in awe.

“Your hands are really soft… like a baby.” Kurt couldn’t help but feel quietly proud of himself, he did work hard on his skin, and it was nice to be appreciated for his efforts.

“That is down to my Elizabeth Arden moisturizer.” The conversation flowed on from there funnily enough, Kurt never thought that he would be having an enjoyable conversation with a bunch of cheerleaders. Quinn seemed nice, Santana had an obvious dark streak, but she was funny, and Brittany… was a little odd. She kept shuffling her seat closer to Kurt until she was practically sitting on his lap, always giggling even when Kurt didn’t say anything funny, and she kept stroking his thigh with her hand, but Kurt tried to ignore it.

When the bell rang out, he collected his books and went to leave, but Quinn grabbed him by the arm and stopped him. “Hey Kurt, you seem like a nice guy-”

“Thank you?”

“I was just wondering whether you wanted to join the Glee club?” Kurt raised an eyebrow.

“Glee club?” He repeated, not quite sure what the blonde was asking of him.

“Yeah, we sing, we dance, it’s so much fun, and since you're new here it’s a great chance to make new friends!” Quinn bounced on the spot in excitement, a large smile on her face. Kurt thought for a moment, he was sceptical of why the girl would be asking him. But when Kurt looked over her shoulder, he saw a bulletin board with a sign up sheet for the McKinley high ‘New Directions’… It was empty.

“You need members don’t you?” The girl visibly deflated.

“You caught me…” She scratched the back of her head awkwardly, avoiding his eyes.

“I really would join Quinn, but judging by the empty sign up sheet, the club doesn’t seem all that popular, and I really can’t be back down at the bottom of the high school food chain.” She sighed, looking thoroughly disappointed. Kurt did feel bad, the club did seem to mean a lot to her, and he would genuinely love to join, but the reason he transferred to McKinley in the first place was to reinvent himself, and he could not risk any more dumpster tosses.

“I understand, let me know if you change your mind.” She shrugged and began to walk off, but turned around at the last minute, lowering her voice. “But if you want to be truly safe from any slushie facials, the football team is looking for a kicker… you know, if you wanted to try out.”

***

“I’m just saying Rachel is good and all, but why not showcase some other talent in Glee? I mean, remind me how many solos I’ve gotten this year? That’s right, none! Can you believe it?” Tina said loudly as she followed Blaine to his locker, ranting about something that he wasn’t really paying attention to. He just made sure to nod or shake his head at the right moment’s and the girl seemed to be satisfied. “Could you come with me to the mall with me after school Blaine, I need help finding a dress for prom.”

“Uh, yeah sure Tina… but prom isn’t for a few months, do you really need to get your dress now?” Blaine opened his locker, shoving his remaining books inside.

“Yeah, I’m planning early this year, this year I’m gonna own the prom!”

“Sounds good.” Blaine really couldn’t care less. Prom was depressing, every year he would have to watch everyone dancing with their dates, and he would just be sat on the side, bitching with Santana about how there weren’t any hot guys on the Cheerios, despite the fact that she was gay.

“So what are you wearing Blaine?”

“To prom?” He slammed his locker shut and turned to face the girl. “Uh, I dunno yet. I probably won’t even go.”

“Why not?”

“Well I wouldn’t have anyone to go with, it’s not like any guy around here is jumping at the chance to be my date.” Blaine sighed, shrugging half heartedly.

“You could still go.”

“How?”

“Well, I was wondering, you know, since neither of us have dates, maybe we could go to prom tog-” Blaine subconsciously drowned out her voice, not really sure where she was going with her question anyway, as his breath was stolen by a passing stranger. A tall boy, with chestnut hair and a surprisingly muscular frame, was having an in depth conversation with Quinn Fabric outside one of the French classes. He was sure that he knew everyone at the school, he was sort of obliged to as Head Cheerleader, but he was sure that he would’ve remembered this particular guy’s face.

The boy wore a yellow button down shirt, with a blue scarf wrapped casually around his neck, revealing his incredibly sharp jawline, a jawline Blaine was sure could cut glass. But then, as Quinn walked off, the boy turned and caught his eye. The world seemed to slow in that moment, as though they were moving through honey, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, more like walking on a cloud. Blaine went to break eye contact with him, embarrassed that he had been caught staring, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“So what do you think? Blaine? Blaine… are you listening?” Blaine didn’t even bother to answer Tina’s questions, he was mesmerised by the stranger in front of him, only a slushie to the face would break his gaze.

Now that the tall stranger was looking right at him, Blaine was able to admire his features in much more detail. He had tousled dark brown hair, thick and lustrous, and his eyes were a mesmerising deep ocean blue, with flecks of silvery light that performed ballets throughout. His face was strong and defined, features molded from granite, and dark eyebrows, one of them raised in question at Blaine’s staring beforehand, but he couldn’t bring himself to care at this moment.

He had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks, but Blaine guessed that he must be sort of used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way, followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile.

He knew that the growing blush rising on his cheeks and love-struck expression he was sure he was wearing would be giving away his affection, but again, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Blaine bit his lip just a little, this stranger was perfect in denim and a yellow shirt. The blush only increased when the boy gave him a weak, nervous smile and raised his hand cautiously, sending a small wave in his direction. Blaine felt his whole body freeze up, he wanted to wave back, but it felt like his limbs weren’t cooperating with his brain. All Blaine could do was smile at him, an action that was returned, before he broke eye contact, and walked away quickly.

“Blaine?” Tina’s voice released the tension that had so suddenly taken over his body, he looked around to see the girl staring at him, arms crossed with a fierce look in her eyes.

“I’m sorry Tina, what did you say?” The girl huffed, shooting him an irritated look before storming off quickly. Blaine wasn’t sure what he had done exactly to annoy the girl so much, he knew that he had zoned out for a moment when she asked him a question earlier, but didn’t realise that he had offended her quite that much.

Although at that moment, Blaine wasn’t really thinking about Tina, he was still in a slight trance from the staring contest he apparently was just having with the beautiful passing stranger. He smiled quietly to himself at the memory, before walking down the hall, gripping his satchel and making his way to Cheerios practice.

***

Kurt wasn’t really sure what had just happened. One moment he was talking to Quinn, the next thing he knew he had caught the eye of a raven-haired cheerleader, and found himself locked in a gaze with him. He wasn’t ashamed to admit it, but he took the opportunity as they looked at each other, to admire the boy and his features.

His hair was midnight black and gelled down to his head, and he had dark brown eyes, framed by graceful brows. His skin was surprisingly tanned, he had prominent cheekbones and a well-defined chin and nose. Kurt quite enjoyed the fact that the boy was blushing furiously when he sent a wave in his direction, he never really had that effect on people. But when Kurt looked to his right, he saw a girl talking to him animatedly, trying to catch his attention, so he decided to just walk away before he caused any more trouble. But one thing was for sure, his gay-dar was going off the rails.

Kurt also noticed that he wore a cheerleading uniform, he made a note to himself to ask Brittany, Santana or Quinn about him, they were sure to know who he was, but that could wait for another day. Kurt rounded a corner, and raised an eyebrow when he saw a long line of students queuing up at a bulletin board, talking excitedly to each other. Kurt edged forward and read the title of the sheet of paper they all seemed so excited about, it read:

_TRYOUTS FOR THE MCKINLEY HIGH TITANS! SEARCHING FOR A NEW KICKER! Tryouts this Wednesday at 4p.m on the football field_

Kurt recalled Quinn mentioning something about that earlier, he couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of him, of all people, on the football team. But still, he could give it a shot. So Kurt decided to join the back of the line, he waited for a good 5 minutes as kids all scribbled their names down on the sheet, until it was Kurt’s turn to sign up. He took the pen provided, and wrote down his own name.

Kurt played quite a bit when he was younger, he was actually pretty good, but he decided to quit when his life got too busy and hectic. It was weird, but he kind of missed getting hit, it was a great stress relief. And just like his Dad said, this new school was a chance to reinvent himself, so he may as well give it a go.

Lately, Kurt had been feeling as though his Dad was slipping away from him, neither of them really had the same interests, so this would be something to bond over, even for a short while. As Kurt walked away from the sign-up sheet, he felt a swell of warmth in his chest, perhaps this new school would work out after all.


	2. Tryouts

“Alright guys! Line up!” Coach Beiste barked across the field, clipboard in hand and whistle hanging around her neck. The day of football tryouts had arrived, and Kurt was sitting on the bench, he pulled his helmet on over his perfectly coiffed hair, wincing a little as he felt his hairspray crack under the pressure. The helmet still had reminisce of scalp sweat from previous owners, Kurt was sure he would have to wash his hair thrice that evening.

Alas, he stood up and jogged over to the group of large and small football players. Coach Beiste stood in the centre of all of them, she looked ready to pounce. 

“Alright listen up! Just because you are not part of all of the game, doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of the team! And if you can’t handle the pressure of making or breaking the game, then you can walk away now!” Kurt looked around him, a few boys lamely walked off the field, snickers ran through the group. 

“The kicker doesn’t need brauns like the Quarterback or the Receiver… they need agility and precision. And also one hell of a kick.” Kurt breathed in deeply, he was feeling confident. “You have one shot at this… line up by the posts on the far end. If you fail on your first try, you can walk on back to the locker rooms in shame, if not, well welcome to the team. Okay, GO!” Kurt jumped slightly, but nevertheless followed the other boys to collect a ball. 

He found his place on the field, and stepped back a few paces for a better run up. He watched as many boys kicked their ball, but for the most part it just soared through the air and landed lamely on the grassy field, or it didn’t really move at all. Coach Beiste would then storm over to them, and point them towards the direction of the locker rooms. Kurt closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose. He had been practicing with his Dad ever since he signed up two days ago, and from what he said, he had a pretty good kick in him. 

So Kurt forced his feet to move, he picked up a gentle jog, which broke into a run. He brought his foot back and swung it forwards with as much force as possible. He felt the ball connect with his boot, and then nothing. He heard gasps around him, and Kurt panicked for a second that he had hit someone, but as he looked up, he saw his ball flying through the posts, and landing neatly on the other side. 

There was silence for a good few moments, Kurt hoped it was the good kind. He presumed that it was, because the next thing he knew, Coach Beiste was walking over to him, patting him on the back and welcoming him to the team. Kurt smiled at her, thanking the woman for the opportunity politely. 

“Don’t thank me kid, you’ve got one hell of a kick. Welcome to the Titans!” 

*** 

Blaine sat on the bleachers, talking with Santana, Quinn and Brittany. Although it wasn’t really talking, he just sat with them, listening in on a conversation the girls were having about a party they were throwing, a party he was sure he wasn’t going to attend. 

“Hey look, football tryouts.” Blaine snapped his head up, looking out towards the field. Funnily enough, Brittany was right, there were a dozen boys walking onto the field, helmets on and ready to play. Blaine watched as Coach Beiste surveyed each and every one of them, as if she were sizing them up. Most started to warm up, stretching and jogging or passing a ball between them, but Blaine’s eyes were drawn to one particular boy, who was sitting on the side, playing with the straps of his helmet. Blaine wasn’t sure, but he recognised him for some reason, he was too far away to tell, but he looked familiar. 

“Hey look it’s Kurt!” Brittany rose from her seat, running forwards and waving manically at the boy, who looked up at the bleachers, smiling at the sight of the girl as he waved back. Now that he was looking right at them, Blaine recognised the face immediately. 

A blush began to rise on his cheeks, it was the boy who he was staring at yesterday. Brittany had stated his name, and he felt himself melt even more when he heard it - Kurt - Blaine couldn’t quite explain it, but the name suited the chestnut haired boy perfectly. 

“I’m glad he took my advice, I told him he should tryout.” Quinn said, as she too waved down at Kurt, who returned the gesture, giving them a worried grimace, an action that Blaine found far too endearing. However he didn’t have any longer to appreciate it, because Kurt had snapped his head round, as Coach Beiste called the boys into the centre. He pulled his helmet on, and Blaine noticed a slight hesitation as he did so, but then jogged across the field and joined the group. 

“I didn’t peg him as a football type.” Santana remarked, leaning back against the row of bleachers behind her. 

“He was a bit reluctant about joining Glee, so I told him if he was on the football team then he would be safer. I’m actually surprised he took my advice.” Quinn leant forwards on her knees, looking across the field at the huddle of players, all decked up in red and white. Brittany then came bouncing back to the group, a smile on her face. 

“He looks hot in his football uniform.” A jealous monster seemed to roar in Blaine’s chest, but he fought it off, trying to keep his face as unreadable as possible. 

“Brittany, uh… what did you say?” Blaine turned in his seat, so that he was fully facing the girls. 

“I’m totally gonna tap that.” Quinn chortled loudly at Brittany’s words, which were almost inaudible in how quietly she had said them. Blaine felt his heart sink, he thought that there was a possibly that Kurt could be gay, when they had looked at each other he swore he saw the boy blush. Apparently not. Instead, he averted his eyes over to Santana, and saw a slightly heart broken look on her face. 

Anyone with eyes and a decent gaydar could see how much Santana was in love with the ditzy cheerleader. And anyone who bothered to decipher Brittany’s ramblings would know about the sexual nature of their relationship. Santana was usually not one to hide away her feelings, most of the time she blurted them right out, but with Brittany it was different. Blaine had brought it up once, but Santana snapped at him and walked away, so he thought it was best to not get involved… for now. 

“I don’t think he plays for your team, Britt.” The jealous monster in Blaine’s chest purred. 

“What makes you say that.” Judging by the expression on Quinn and Santana’s face, he had said it a little too quickly. 

“Brittany was flirting with him in French class a couple days back and he showed no indication of interest, why do you want to know Anderson?” Santana said coldly, raising an eyebrow. Blaine’s eyes widened, almost comically he was sure. 

“Oh, um… no reason, just wondering.” He turned away from them, looking out across the field, where the boys all started to split up, grabbing footballs and lining up by the post. Many of them started kicking, quite pathetically Blaine thought. But then, a single football flew through the air in a perfect curve, through the centre of the posts and landing on the other side. 

“Wow.” Blaine breathed. Judging off the little knowledge Blaine had about football, that was amazing. His eyes immediately scanned the field for the person that had initiated that kind of kick, but came up short. They were all too far away. 

“That was incredible.” Quinn stated, Santana let out a low, appreciative whistle, before going back to her nails. Brittany looked like she didn’t really know what was going on. 

“Who kicked that?” Blaine asked, mostly to himself, still desperately trying to find the mysterious kicker. 

“I don’t know, but whoever they are are I bet they’re on the team… I just feel bad for Kurt though.” Quinn said solemnly, receiving a nod from the two girls. They were quiet for a moment, when Blaine’s phone began to buzz. He reached into his bag and accepted the call. The line was crackly at first, but soon evened out, as his mother’s voice filled Blaine’s ears. 

“Hi darling! My car’s parked outside.” 

“Great, I’ll see you in a minute.” 

“Okay, love you.” 

“Love you too.” Blaine hung up, rising from his seat and waving to the girls, quickly promising to meet them by his locker the next day. As Blaine trudged along the bleachers, which produced a worrying creak every time his foot met the metal, his breath was hitched in his throat by the attractive boy - Kurt. He was walking across the field, receiving a red letterman jacket from Coach Beiste. At first Blaine didn’t think much of it, but when he saw him grinning down at the red piece of materiel, jigsaw pieces seemed to fit together in Blaine’s mind. And apparently the girls had the same realisation, because they were bouncing in their seats, trying to catch the boy’s eye, sending thumbs up in his direction. Blaine was sure of it, Kurt was the new kicker. 

*** 

The next day, Kurt was practically ecstatic. People were looking at him like he was some sort of God, the red letterman jacket had that effect. When Coach Beiste had given it to him, he felt that the jacket was a bit… bland. So that night, Kurt hurried down to his basement, whipped out his gemstones and glitter gun, and got to work. By the end of the evening, Kurt had successfully glued hundreds of rhinestones over the peeling material that spelt out his new number - 03. He even did the cuffs and lining. Kurt thought that he looked like he could be in Vogue, well, if Vogue had a section for letterman jackets. 

“Looking good Kurt, we saw that you got kicker!” Quinn said with excitement, as she caught up to his side, she began to walk with him, followed by Brittany soon after, who immediately looped her arm through his. 

“Yeah, I can’t believe it. Everyone’s looking at me like I’m some sort of style icon.” 

“Well this jacket is amazing.” Kurt smiled, he rarely got complimented on his outfits. 

“I know right, I stayed up most of the night working on it.” Kurt said proudly, he went to elaborate, but Brittany cut him off before he could say anything more. 

“So you’re on the football team now?” 

“Yeah I am.” 

“You know cheerleaders and football players often go out.” The girl said in her dreamy voice, now with a hint of a suggestion that Kurt was struggling to comprehend. He rarely got this much attention, and wasn’t quite sure how to handle it, so instead just spluttered out a response. 

“Uh, yeah… I suppose.” 

“Nice work Hummel, fourth day at this school and you’re already on Jacob Ben Israel’s blog.” Santana jogged past them, turning around and walking backwards to speak to him. Kurt tossed his head back, giving the girl his best ‘bitch please’ look. 

“What can I say? I work fast.” Quinn laughed lightly, along with Santana who raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows up. Kurt laughed too, and was surprised by the way that Brittany tossed her head back and giggled unnecessarily loudly at his joke. 

“Oh my god, you are so funny.” She whispered in his ear, leaning in uncomfortably close. The girl's sweet breath made his skin tickle, and not in a pleasant way. Kurt just shrugged and quickly changed the subject, asking Quinn how her math test went yesterday. The girl leapt into an in depth explanation of her test, Kurt made sure to turn all of his attention to her, nodding and smiling at the right times, trying to ignore the fact that Brittany had grabbed his hand, and was stroking her thumb over his skin in a tender way. He just hoped that it was a friendly gesture, not a romantic one. Kurt would hate to tell sweet, innocent Brittany to back off. He was sure she would be hurt, and he couldn’t lose her friendship like that. 

“Anyway, I’ll see you later.” Quinn said once she had come to the end of her rant, she grabbed Brittany by the arm and dragged her away. Kurt waved goodbye to the girls, and just caught Brittany making a ‘call me’ sign with her hand. Kurt sighed in annoyance. He would have to tell her eventually, it wouldn’t be fair to lead her on. Kurt took a sharp right and entered the locker rooms, the smell of old sweat and deodorant instantly filled his nostrils. He pushed passed the smell nonetheless, and squeezed his way past everyone and to his assigned locker. He actually had a couple of people give him high fives as he hung his jacket up. 

“We are gonna thrash NorthVille High this year!” One of them roared, receiving cheers from the rest of the room. Kurt found the comradery soothing. It put order and fun into the chaos of the sport. He quickly changed into his protective pads, boots and crisp white jersey, sure that by the end of practice it wouldn’t be so clean. 

Coach Beiste then stormed into the locker rooms, blowing her whistle and ordering everyone onto the field. Kurt followed suit with the rest of the team, who all had gotten ready for practice themselves. 

Once they had arrived on the field, Kurt went off on his own to warm up. He preferred it that way, he had a very specific routine. But as he stretched and jogged around the field, he got stopped by a tall, gangly teenager who he didn’t recognise. 

“Excuse me, Kurt Hummel? I’m Finn Hudsn, I’m the Quarterback.” Finn held out his hand for Kurt to shake, an offer he took delicately. 

“Oh yeah, I heard people talking about you.” 

“Yeah I’m kinda a big deal.” Finn said proudly, Kurt raised his eyebrow, trying to choke back a laugh. “And from what I hear you may be too.” 

“Well whatever you’ve heard is probably not true, I’ve been at this school four days, I doubt half the football team even knows my name.” He chuckled. 

“Seriously man? I heard Coach Beiste talking about you, she says you're ‘our secret weapon.’” 

“And your point is?” Kurt really didn’t know where he was going with all this. 

“What I’m trying to say is, you are on the verge of becoming one of the most popular guys in school. If you win us our first game this season, you die a legend. But if we don’t, hockey is gonna replace football at the top of the food chain, and I am not letting those puck-heads win.” 

“Pressure much.” 

“Dude, we win Championships this year, we’ll be Gods. Every girl in school will be hanging off of us… imagine it!” 

“I don’t really want to.” 

“Why not? You will basically be getting your pick of any gir-” 

“I’m gay.” Kurt blurted it out before he could stop himself, instantly regretting it at Finn’s taken aback face. On instinct, Kurt recoiled, waiting for the insults to come hurling at him, but instead, Finn smiled warmly, almost to himself, as if cogs were working in his mind. He looked as though he was forming some kind of plan, Kurt hadn’t decided yet whether it was a good or bad thing. 

“You’re gay?” 

“Uh… yeah, you’re actually the first person I’ve told at this school.” 

“Well I should introduce you to my friend Blaine, you two might get along.” Kurt thought that he was going to elaborate, and was frankly quite interested, but Coach Beiste then called everyone into the middle of the field. Kurt caught her saying something about circuit training, Finn groaned at this and reluctantly jogged over. 

While listening to Beiste’s instruction, he surveyed the boys around him. Kurt was quite small compared to the rest of the team, it wouldn’t take much for them to knock him off his feet. Quinn said that all that armour in football just encouraged the kids to hit each other harder, because no one could see the bruises. And if he did get tackled, his brain would get rattled around in his skull, maybe causing long term damage. But Kurt decided that was a mental block he could battle through. If something happened to him, he had people around him who cared about him and his safety, but maybe that was just as concerning. 

*** 

Blaine trudged into the boys locker room that Thursday morning, with a stack of Glee Club sign-up sheets. They were getting pretty desperate. It was an undoubtedly risky move putting them up in the locker rooms, but they needed members wherever they could find them. Since Blaine didn’t really know anyone on the team, he just scanned the crowd for Finn, who he found, lifting weights on the bench press. 

“Hey Finn!” Finn looked up, sweat dripping from his forehead. 

“Hey dude.” He moved from under the weight above him, and sat up to face Blaine. 

“I just came to hang up some Glee sign up sheets, and was hoping you could show me where I could put them.” 

“Cool... well just leave the pile here, I can do it for you.” 

“Oh… thanks!” He put the small pile of flyers down on the bench, as Finn wrapped a towel around the back of his neck. “So how was practice?” 

“Amazing! You have got to meet our new kicker, he’s phenomenal!” Finn sounded extremely excited, his face had broken into a mischievous grin. He turned and shouted out into the locker room, producing a slight echo as he screamed. “Hey Kurt… KURT! Come here!” 

_Kurt… Kurt. Where did that name sound familiar?_

__Blaine’s thoughts were answered, as a tall boy stepped out from behind the red lockers. Blaine felt that familiar feeling where his breath hitched in his throat. The boy was too perfect. His smile was soft with a hint of femininity, but his strong bone structure was all male. It was definitely Kurt. Blaine couldn’t help but feel a warm flutter in his stomach when Kurt cocked his head to the side and smiled in recognition._ _

__“Kurt, this is my buddy Blaine. Blaine, this is our new kicker, Kurt.” Blaine extended his hand for Kurt to shake, desperate for some skin-to-skin contact._ _

__“Hey.” Blaine breathed out, feeling suddenly light-headed as Kurt accepted his handshake._ _

___Oh god his hands were soft._ _ _

____“Hi.” Blaine thought back to how he had felt when he had discovered Kurt’s name, the way that it just seemed to fit. Well, he had that feeling again, but this time it was Kurt’s voice. It was higher than expected, yet it was so soft, so calming. Blaine glanced over in Finn’s direction, who was smiling somewhat triumphantly. At that moment, Kurt released his hand, and Blaine tried to ignore the cold feeling he felt without the weight of his hand clasped in his. He didn’t have time to mourn his loss for long, because Coach Beiste’s screams caused all three boys to snap their heads round in her direction._ _ _ _

___“FINN! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT NOT GETTING THE MUD OFF YOUR BOOTS BEFORE COMING IN FROM PRACTICE? THIS PLACE IS LIKE A PIG STY!” Finn looked extremely panicked._ _ _

___“Shit… uh, coming Coach! I’ll catch you later Blaine, see ya Kurt!” Finn ran off toward Beiste, who was standing with her hands on her hips, nostrils flaring at the state of the locker rooms Kurt giggled slightly, a sound that made Blaine melt. He felt lip quirked up in a shy smile, and it was probably noticeable to anyone around that he was smitten. And he was sure Kurt could see it too, because as the boy turned his attention back to Blaine, he smiled shyly back, dropping his gaze and staring at the floor. It hit him that they were alone. They stood, staring at each other awkwardly._ _ _

___One half of Blaine’s brain told him too:_ _ _

____Say something… talk to him, don’t make a fool of yourself!_ _ _ _

____When the other half of his brain said:_ _ _ _

____Run away._ _ _ _

____But as he debated what advice he should take, Kurt opened his mouth._ _ _ _


	3. Teenage Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm sorry I haven't uploaded a chapter in a while, I'll try to post more often. Feedback is welcome, I want to know what you think of this story or if you have any ideas! 
> 
> xo

“So do you do that a lot?” Blaine was taken aback by how sharply the boy spoke, his tone was slightly impatient, but Blaine could see a smile behind his eyes.

“Do what a lot?” 

“Stare.” Kurt looked down sheepishly, smirking a little. “You just seem to stare a lot.” His voice had lowered, he was speaking so quietly that Blaine could barely make out what he was saying over the hustle and bustle of the locker rooms. The boy seemed to have lost the confidence that he had been graced mere seconds ago, and Blaine wanted to see his smile again, so decided to play along. 

“It’s not my fault that you stare back.” Letting out a hollow laugh, Kurt looked back up into Blaine’s eyes, regaining his composure. He cleared his throat and tipped his shoulders back, so that he was standing tall. 

“Well played.” There was silence for a moment, a silence that Blaine used carefully. He took the time to study Kurt’s facial expressions. The boy looked nervous. When Blaine had seen him on the Football field, or when he had caught his eye on the first day, he radiated so much energy, but now he seemed closed off and shy. 

“So you’re the Titans new kicker?” 

Kurt looked up from behind his eyelashes, an action that Blaine found far too endearing. “Uh… yeah, today was my first practice.” 

“Cool! I saw you at tryouts, you’re amazing.” Blaine could’ve sworn he saw a blush grow on Kurt’s cheeks, and felt quietly proud of himself for triggering it. 

“Thank you.” There was that silence again, awkward and uncomfortable. Blaine really wanted to keep the conversation going, so tried to fill the quiet. 

“Hey, do you know Quinn Fabray?” 

“Uh... yeah I do.” 

“Ah, thought so. I saw you talking to her. She’s a friend of mine, we don’t always get along because I knocked her off the Head Cheerleader pedestal, but she’s cool.” 

“You’re Head Cheerleader?” Blaine smiled inwardly as Kurt’s eyes widened in an awe inspired fashion. 

“Yeah I am! I got appointed at the end of last year.” 

“That’s amazing... you must know Santana and Brittany then?” Blaine laughed heartily. 

“Oh yeah, they’re a bit special.” 

“Yeah they are!” Kurt giggled. “So, um… What are you doing in here anyway? Not that I’m not enjoying talking to you, it’s just- you don’t seem like the kind of guy to be lurking around the locker rooms.” 

“Oh! I was putting up sign-up sheets for my Glee Club, Finn was just showing me where I could hang them.” Blaine grabbed one of the fliers from the bench press and handed it to Kurt, who took one look at the sheet and scoffed. Blaine’s face fell. “What?” 

“Your name is ‘New Directions’? You do know what that sounds like when you say it out loud right?” 

“Uh… no?” He really didn’t know what Kurt was insinuating. 

“Nude Erections.” Blaine started laughing hysterically the moment the words left Kurt’s lips, because it only just hit him now how stupid the name ‘New Directions’ was. 

“Oh my god! I never thought of that before.” Blaine looked up at Kurt, who he noticed was now laughing too. The boy’s laughter was so free and pure, so childish despite his teenage years. It came to Blaine’s ears as a tickle and bounce - and only a rocky heart could do anything but join in such generous mirth. It went on like that for a few more moments, both just giggling uncontrollably until they forgot from where the laughter had been birthed. They only forced themselves to swallow their giggles when they started to attract stares. “So, do you think you’ll be joining?” Kurt widened his eyes. 

“What? The Glee Club?” 

“Yeah! It’s so much fun. Plus Finn, Mike and Puck are all in it, they’re on the Football team two. We really need some more male voices in there.” Blaine was feeling hopeful, he saw a flicker of interest behind Kurt’s eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came. 

“Thanks, but no thanks.” His heart sank to the depths of his chest. 

“What? Why not?” 

“I’m fresh meat at this school, can’t ruin my already sparse reputation by joining a club that from what I can tell isn’t too popular.” Blaine didn’t feel like giving up quite yet, so decided to keep going. 

“I bet I can change your mind.” 

“I don’t think you can.” Kurt began to walk back to his locker, turning away and smiling somewhat flirtatiously at Blaine. He felt a blush on his cheeks begin to rise, hiding it with his hand. 

“Well I disagree.” Blaine followed quickly in Kurt’s departure. “Come see us at rehearsals today, you can see what we’re about. And if you watch us perform and decide it’s not your thing, I totally get it. But you might just find yourself enjoying it.” Kurt seemed to be thinking it over in his head. He pulled his eyebrows together, furrowing them in a very cute way. Apparently, something in the boy’s brain clicked, and he turned to face Blaine with a mischievous grin. 

“Ok, you’ve got yourself a deal gel-head.” 

Blaine laughed at the nickname, trying to hide the sheer excitement he felt bubbling in his chest. 

“Brilliant, come to the auditorium after school. I hope to see you there.” And with that, he turned on his heel and walked from the locker rooms. The panic only really settled in once he had left Kurt’s presence. 

What was he going to sing? What was he going to wear? The Glee Club didn’t have many impromptu numbers in their back pocket. 

He turned a sharp left to the choir room, where half the group were already there, awaiting the start of practice. They all turned their heads towards Blaine simultaneously. 

“Guys we have a problem.” 

*** 

Kurt marched towards the auditorium that afternoon feeling trepidatious. He really didn’t know why he had agreed to going to watch the Glee club perform, at the time it felt like a good idea, but now he wasn’t so sure. Music and performing was something that Kurt loved, he adored the feeling of the warm spotlights hitting his face, and the buzz of the crowd. But that was what had given him so much trouble in his last school, and apparently people in the Glee club at McKinley were given the same kind of treatment. Honestly, Kurt only agreed to it because at the time he was under the spell of Mr ‘intense eyes’ Blaine, who was giving him a look you couldn’t say no too. 

But as Kurt walked into the auditorium, and was met with a laughing group of High Schoolers all ready to perform, he instantly relaxed. A performing space seemed to do that to him, he didn’t know why. Kurt scanned the group for Blaine, desperate for a familiar face to give him some form of direction, and then he saw him. All dressed up in his Cheerios uniform like he had seen him that morning. Blaine’s smile widened until it was impossibly big at the sight of Kurt, it looked almost painful. 

“Kurt!” The boy exclaimed excitedly, jumping off the stage and running up to him. “I’m surprised you came.” 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Kurt took a seat in the third row, dumping his bag on the ground. Blaine stood in front of him, and Kurt noticed his eyes scanning over his outfit. His eyebrow was pulled together, and an almost comical expression bore his face. 

“Did you… accessorize your letterman jacket?” Kurt looked down at his outfit, and smirked quietly to himself, playing with one of the gemstones he had so carefully glued on the night before. 

“Oh yeah, I felt it needed a bit of a Kurt Hummel makeover.” Blaine giggled, smiling at the boy in what looked like adoration. Kurt felt the familiar feeling that had flooded his body that morning, where Blaine’s eyes seemed to just bear into his soul. It was scary. 

“So anyway,” Blaine cleared his throat. “I wanted to show you what Glee is all about, and selected a song that I think you’re going to like.” Kurt nodded for him to begin, as the group all started to get into position, and thumping music began to play. He recognised the song immediately, nodding his head knowingly. 

Before you met me I was alright But things were kinda heavy You brought me to life Now every February You'll be my valentine, valentine 

Kurt was pleasantly surprised. Blaine had an incredible voice, it filled the large auditorium with ease. And the rest of the club were all very talented. He recognised Quinn, Santana and Brittany dancing, and waved to them hysterically, they grinned at him back. He knew that Quinn was in the club, and was quite surprised that Santana and Brittany were two. It was surprisingly refreshing. 

Let's go all the way tonight No regrets, just love We can dance until we die You and I We'll be young forever 

The confusion immediately settled in for Kurt. Was Blaine singing… to him? It seemed that way. He kept throwing him these flirtatious winks and pointing right at him. Kurt felt his gay-dar going off the rales, and excitement began to fill him. 

You make me feel like I'm living a, teenage, dream The way you turn me on I, can't, sleep Let's runaway And don't ever look back Don't ever look back My, heart, stops When you look at me Just, one, touch Now baby I believe This, is, real So take a chance And don't ever look back Don't ever look back 

His voice was smooth and clear and quiet yet powerful. Soothing, in a way. It was beautiful, and Kurt wished that he would never stop. 

I'ma get your heart racing In my skin-tight jeans Be your teenage dream tonight Let you put your hands on me In my skin-tight jeans Be your teenage dream tonight You, make, me feel like I'm living a, teenage, dream The way you turn me on I, can't, sleep Let's runaway And don't ever look back Don't ever look back 

Kurt was sure of it, Blaine was singing every word right to him. It felt weird to feel such a tether to a boy he had just met, but he felt it. Everytime the song reached an ever so slightly ‘scandalous’ line, Blaine would do a dance move that made Kurt giggle, and then shoot him a flirtatious smile. Extremely enchanting. 

My, heart, stops When you look at me Just one touch Now baby I believe This, is, real So take a chance And don't ever look back Don't ever look back I'ma get your heart racing In my skin-tight jeans Be your teenage dream tonight Let you put your hands on me In my skin-tight jeans Be your teenage dream tonight 

Kurt stood from his seat when the song ended, clapping and whooping happily. “That was amazing!” He exclaimed, as the group all gave each other high-fives and patted Blaine on the back, before he made his way over. 

“So what did you think?” He asked, looking at Kurt hopefully. 

“It was incredible!” Blaine’s smile grew so wide, he looked like he could jump for joy. “You’re very talented Blaine.” Kurt could have sworn he saw the boy blush, and was even more sure of it when Blaine very obviously tried to cover it by turning his head to the side. 

“I’m glad you liked it.” He spoke so quietly and sheepishly that Kurt could barely hear him. It was a cute sight, before Blaine regained his composure, much like Kurt had done that morning. He tilted his shoulders back and cleared his throat. “So do you think you’re going to join?” Kurt’s face fell. He completely forgot that that was the reason Blaine had invited him, not just to watch an undeniably great performance. Because the truth was, he wasn’t. 

“Look Blaine.” Kurt felt himself wince at the way Blaine’s face fell at his tone. “I would, and I’m not just saying that, I really would. But the reason I left my old school was because of some of the treatment people gave me there, and I can’t go through that again. I’m really sorry, you’re a very talented guy, and everyone looks so lovely, but I can’t. Besides, I’m not even a very good singer.” Blaine sighed, looking thoroughly disappointed, despite the fact he was trying to hide it. 

“I understand, no hard feelings. I’m just glad you enjoyed the song.” 

“Oh I did!” Blaine’s face broke back into that excited smile that Kurt loved, it made him feel so warm inside. “I should get going, see you around.” Blaine waved half heartedly, before Kurt congratulated the rest of the group on their performance, before walking from the auditorium. 

*** 

“So that’s the guy you like?” Puck asked as Kurt’s retreating figure walked through the exit. 

“I don’t like him Puckerman, I barely know him. I just thought that he may want to join Glee, but apparently not.” 

“He is so blushing, our boy's smitten.” Santana remarked, only making Blaine’s cheeks plunge into a deeper red. He looked over to Brittany, who was frowning, apparently disappointed. He did know that she had a bit of a crush on Kurt. Although, it wasn’t like he was any competition, he wasn’t even sure if Kurt was gay. Instead of overthinking it, Blaine then turned his attention to Tina, and it was a slightly terrifying sight. She was practically shaking, nostrils flared and glaring daggers at the door Kurt had just exited through. 

“You okay Tina?” Blaine asked cautiously, walking over to the girl. He went to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and turned on her heel to leave. 

“Fine.” She muttered, walking from the stage. Blaine stood, flabbergasted, not quite sure what exactly he had done wrong. 

“I’ll go talk to her.” Mike said from the corner he had been quietly perched, quickly running after the girl. Blaine happened to know that Mike had a bit of a thing for Tina, he had let it slip at one of their frequent ‘boy’s night’s’. (Which mostly just consisted of playing video games and watching a bunch of movies). 

“So you gonna go for it Blaine?” Quinn asked kindly, snapping Blaine from his thoughts. 

“Go for what?” Despite his question, Blaine knew exactly what she was insinuating. 

“Are you gonna ask Kurt out? Santana’s says her ‘gay-dar’ is going off the charts.” Quinn said, gesturing to Santana, who was nodding appreciatively. 

“It’s true, I’m 100% sure that boy plays for your team.” 

“Yeah, did you see the way he was blushing through that whole song? I mean, Blaine basically serenaded him.” Rachel said, filing her nails. 

“She speaks the truth.” 

“Ok! Enough guys.” Blaine snapped harshly. “I barely know him, if I'm gonna be anything to him, I should start off by being his friend. I'm not gonna try anything more.” 

“Wanky.” Santana walked from the stage, followed by the rest of the group, muttering amongst themselves. Blaine stood in the centre of the stage, alone. He walked over to the ledge and took a seat, swinging his legs back and forth, smiling to himself happily. It was very rare to see Blaine smitten, he was so confident and collected most of the time, he didn’t understand why being around Kurt rendered him so inarticulate, but the boy had that effect on him. Blaine didn’t know where his friendship with Kurt would go, he had limited interactions with him so far to build anything off of, but all he knew was that he wanted to get to know him more. There was something, he didn’t know what, but something intrigued him. And Blaine was determined to find out more, and let’s just say, he couldn’t wait. 


	4. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how I feel about this chapter, feedback is always welcome! I'm lacking motivation at the moment so if there isn't a chapter up for a while I apologise and hope you can bare with me! I'm so glad people are enjoying it so far though :)

“I don’t even know why you’re dragging me to this, you know I hate parties.” Blaine said as he and Brittany drove along the winding roads that led to Santana's house. The girl sat quietly in the passenger's side, sucking on a lollipop as they went. The latina cheerleader had announced on twitter the previous night that she was throwing a party at her place, and of course, the school went ballistic. He was pretty sure everyone he knew was attending.

“You’ve been really lonely and sad lately, and I know that you want a dolphin, so we’re going to get you one.” Blaine quickly translated Brittany’s sentence in his head, something that you got used to when being friends with the girl. Apparently, Brittany was interested in getting him a boyfriend. 

“I don’t want a dolphin right now, Britt.” 

“You keep on staring into space and looking like cupid just shot you with one of his magic arrows… I think my dolphin likes another dolphin.” 

He felt his stomach twist unpleasantly, a certain chestnut haired football player swimming back into the forefront of his mind. “I don’t.” That was a lie. 

“Who is he?” 

“Uh… you don’t know him.” She knew him. She had a big fat crush on him for god’s sake, but it wasn’t like he could say that out loud. 

“Tell me? Pretty please with a cherry on top?” 

“It’s… nobody Britt, just drop it.” Blaine was saved by the bell, when Brittany’s phone ran. The theme tune to ‘Kim Possible’ played out of it’s speakers, and Blaine swallowed a laugh at her choice of ringtone. 

“Hello?” She said dreamily, the girl’s face then lit up as the person on the other line spoke. “Hey Kurtie.” Blaine tried to keep his face as unreadable as possible, instead focusing his eyes on the road. 

“Are you coming tonight?” There was a moment of silence. “Awesome… no Blaine’s driving me… can’t wait to see you… you’re so cute… okay… bye.” Brittany apparently seemed satisfied with her brief interaction with the boy, smiling to herself happily. 

“Is Kurt coming tonight?” Blaine tried to keep his tone as casual as he could, and thought that he did a pretty good job. 

“He is... I’m so gonna make my move tonight on Kurt.” Oh god, that was the last thing Blaine wanted to hear. Not now, not ever. 

“Oh.” He cleared his throat to try and remove the large lump he didn’t realise had formed. 

“Yeah, he’s totally into me too-” 

“Oh look, we’re here.” Blaine interrupted, pulling up to the front of Santana’s house, which was already packed with people, thumping music playing from speakers. 

“Awesome! Let’s go.” Blaine turned off the child lock he had put on for Brittany, allowing the girl to clamber out of the car. He walked up to the front door and knocked lightly. He wasn’t too worried about the party, he was designated driver afterall, so it wasn’t like he was going to get wasted. The moment the door opened however, it seemed everyone had different ideas. The music was so loud it made Blaine’s skin tingle and his lungs feel like mush. The bass thumped in time with his heartbeat, filling him from head to toe with music. He did like this song. It didn’t take much to suck him into the fun. 

Over the roar of music, a distant, hazy chatter could be heard. He couldn’t make out any words, but laughter rang in his ears and wouldn’t seem to stop. The song that was playing got louder, pulling him in and not letting go. He had no choice but to join the crowd, jumping in a huddled group like Tic-Tacs being shaken in a box. Blaine let himself begin to dance, not really with anyone in particular, just surrounded by people he vaguely knew, some people better than others. But as he scanned the crowd for Finn, desperate for his best friend's face, he caught sight of Kurt. 

Blaine felt his dancing slow and his limbs apparently stop working. Kurt was laughing hysterically with Quinn, Santana and Mercedes from Glee Club. He didn’t know that Kurt knew Mercedes, but they seemed pretty comfortable with each other. He watched as the boy laughed so hard that he bumped his head on the wall behind him, only to look partially shocked for a second, and then continue laughing hysterically. Blaine tried to listen to what he was saying, making his way off the dance floor and edging closer. 

“N-no I need… need to tell you guys the… truth.” Kurt’s words were slurred, hiccuping every once in a while. “You guys…. Are my best. Friends. Ever.” 

Yep, Kurt was drunk. 

“Y- you are my bestest friend Kurt.” Mercedes said, taking the boy by the neck and pulling him closer, swaying to the music happily. Quinn and Santana joined in, starting to sing along to the lyrics. They all seemed to be slightly tipsy as well. Blaine let his gaze flick over to Kurt, who had his eyes closed and was hugging the girls surrounding him, making a joke about elephants, or penguins, Blaine wasn’t really sure. 

But whatever it was, he couldn’t deny it, Kurt was cute while drunk. He just looked bubbly and happy, extremely confident from what he could tell. As he watched the interaction in front of him, Kurt opened his eyes and saw Blaine staring at him. 

Why does that always happen? 

He looked away sheepishly, a familiar deja vu feeling washing over him. He expected Kurt to do what he did last time, look away shyly and walk off. But instead, he strided over to Blaine with a broad grin on his face. 

“Hey Blaine!” He said loudly over the music, looking down at him with a hint of mischievousness in his eyes. 

“Hi Kurt! Uh… are you drunk?” Kurt giggled, his pupils dilated and a red cup in hand. 

“A little bit.” He laughed, stirring the drink with a pink straw, humming a song as he did. Kurt was a ‘happy drunk’ from what Blaine could tell, and he had to admit that it was a good look on him. 

“Do you need to sit down? Do you want me to get you some water? Or a-” 

“C- calm down gel-head… I- I'm good..” Kurt cut him off, waving his hands about in accusation. "Nice bowtie." 

Blaine looked down at his outfit, carefully chosen by Brittany. It was a v-neck purple vest, checked shirt and his signature bowtie. Kurt had never seen him without his Cheerios uniform on, and he felt suddenly self-conscious. "Uh... thanks." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, as he watched Kurt bob along to the music, and couldn't help but smile. He watched as the boy took a sip of his drink, grimacing at the taste of the concoction, making Blaine giggle. He thought that Kurt would walk away and go join his friends, but as the song changed to ‘Last Friday Night’ by Katy Perry, Kurt’s face lit up, he started to jump up and down on the spot excitedly. 

“Let’s dance!” He said, putting his cup down and dragging him into the middle of the dance floor. Blaine looked down at the way that his and Kurt’s hands were connected as he was dragged to the centre of the room. Usually, he would deny the offer and instead go and sit on the side, but Kurt’s mischievous grin and adrenaline filled face made Blaine's stomach flutter, and he couldn’t help but follow suit. Kurt let go of Blaine’s hands, and began to shake his head to the beat of the music, laughing and spinning and jumping. It was infectious, and Blaine found himself joining in. 

He couldn’t count how many times he felt a stranger bump into him, sending him flying forwards and into Kurt’s awaiting arms to catch his fall. Still, he smiled brightly as their shoes clicked over the dance floor. Kurt's smile only grew more with each move and beat. This was perfect. Strong pointed moves didn't matter here. All that mattered was the person in front of you. And if that person in front of him was Kurt, he could do this for the rest of his life. 

*** 

Each drink offered seemed like a better and better idea. The jokes got funnier, Kurt felt himself becoming a comedian of epic proportions. He felt confident, witty and cool. He rumpled his hand through his hair frequently, something he usually wouldn’t do. Whatever drink Santana had given him tasted bitter at first, slipping down his throat like a hard to swallow pill, but settled at the bottom of his stomach, making him feel warm. Around him, the room swayed like he was standing on a swing. Kurt held the wall to steady himself as he tipped the rest of whatever he was drinking down his throat. He heard Quinn and Santana talking to him, and a girl he had met earlier that evening - Mercedes - came and joined them two. 

“N-no I need… need to tell you guys the… truth.” Kurt found himself saying. “You guys…. Are my best. Friends. Ever.” The girls giggled around him, and he quickly found himself enveloped in a group hug, as Mercedes murmured similar forms of adoration. He closed his eyes as they swayed along to the music, and when opening them, found two pairs of eyes staring at him in what looked like awe. Those pair of eyes belonged to that Blaine guy, the one he had met the other day. Kurt would be lying to himself if he said that he didn’t think the boy was cute, despite the fact that the gel-head look wasn’t personally his thing, it did suit him very well. 

He found himself walking over and having a brief conversation with Blaine, a conversation that he wasn’t really concentrating on, he just liked looking at the way Blaine smiled at him, laughing at his drunk state. Blaine was wearing this very cut looking bowtie, and he found himself commenting on it. Kurt immediately got excited when a Katy Perry song began to play, one of his favourite’s as well. 

“Let’s dance!” He yelled, dragging Blaine to the centre of the floor. The music was as loud as thunder; it made the cutlery on the tabletops rattle. Neon lights flashed everywhere like police sirens, but much more colourful. Kurt started to dance to the tune, not caring what he looked like, the alcohol was dangerously lowering his inhibitions. As he danced, he noticed Blaine wasn’t exactly… loosening up. He would just move his feet pathetically, and laugh when Kurt grabbed him and spun him around. Some people kept bumping into them, and Blaine fell forward a couple times into Kurt, where he would be forced to catch him. It all felt very ‘rom-com’. 

“Loosen up, Blaine!” Kurt shouted when the song came to it’s final chorus. 

“What?” he said over the music. 

“Loosen up! Who cares what they think?” Kurt assumed that was why he didn’t want to go all out in his dancing, or perhaps it was because there wasn’t any alcohol running through his blood stream. That was probably a good thing. 

“I care what you think.” Kurt noticed the way that Blaine looked embarrassed of his words. The boy winced slightly, keeping his eyes trained on the ground as he stopped dancing all together. 

“Well here’s what I think, you need to have fun.” Kurt surged forwards, taking Blaine’s hand in his and spinning him around, giggling at the boy’s bemused expression. When the music changed to a song Kurt didn’t recognise, he watched Blaine begin to dance harder, bopping his head overdramatically to the rhythm. 

“Is that better?” He asked playfully. Blaine said it as a lighthearted question, but Kurt could see genuine worry behind his eyes. 

“Much!” Kurt shimmied his shoulders, throwing his head back and laughing as Blaine tried to imitate the movement. Dancing with Blaine felt so natural, and he went to grab him by the hands to swing them back and forth, but a gruff voice behind him interrupted. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Kurt turned around, to see this guy on the Football team that Finn had pointed out to him. He recalled his name as being something-Karofsky, but he couldn’t be sure. 

“Dancing! Want to join?” Kurt let the words slip right from his mouth, he felt he was almost mocking Karofsky, because from what he could tell the large boy didn’t want to. Kurt noticed Blaine from the corner of his eye begin to drag him away, whispering warnings in his ear. 

“Don’t talk to him, Kurt, let’s go find Santana.” Blaine sounded terrified, and Kurt really wanted to know why. So as Blaine pulled at his arm to get him to leave, he kept his feet rooted to the spot. 

“What’s your problem?” He said to Karofsky, taking a step forward. 

“Other than having to watch a bunch of queers dancing around in my face?” Karofsky spat. Kurt was shocked, his eyes widened. 

“Are you serious?” 

“Hell yeah I'm serious.” Karofsky stepped forwards threateningly. “First we have a bunch of guys on the Football team joining Glee club, and now we’ve got homos. What’s next?” 

“You complete dick!” Kurt stepped closer, wanting to shove this boy. He couldn’t believe what he was saying. Well, he kind of could, he got similar treatment at his old school, he just couldn’t believe it only took him dancing with another guy to trigger it. 

“What’re you gonna do about it, huh? You gonna sprinkle me with some of your fairy dust?” Kurt pressed his lips together in a tight line, trying to contain his anger.. “Homo!” That was it. He launched himself at the boy, before being abruptly held back by Blaine, whose arms were wrapped securely around his waist, preventing him from getting far. 

“Get off me, Blaine.” Kurt grumbled. He didn’t know why, but all he could see was Karofsky’s face and how unscathed it was, and how much it needed to be. He remembered what homophobia could do to someone, he experienced it first hand. Perhaps it was his drunken state making his decisions, and he knew that was probably the case, but it felt so good to let go for once. He hadn’t told anyone at McKinley other than Finn about his sexuality, and he wasn’t really planning on it, but he'd be damned if they went after anyone in or out of the closet there. 

“What the hell Karofsky?” Finn appeared by the pair of them, glaring daggers at the boy. Kurt pulled himself from Blaine’s grip. 

“Get the _hells_ out of my house!” Santana stormed over, pointing Karofsky towards the door. He looked to the pair of them, before punching the air in front of him in annoyance, and exiting through the door. Kurt stared after him, anger seeping through his veins. He now bore white knuckles from clenching his fist too hard, and gritted teeth from effort to remain silent. 

“Are you ok Kurt?” Finn asked carefully. Kurt took a deep breath through his nose, suddenly feeling very light headed. Everyone around him all felt blurry and far away. 

“I’m fine.” Kurt mumbled, before retreating from the group to go pour himself another drink. 

“Kurt stop it, we’re done here.” Kurt spun round, to see Finn walking towards him, pulling him away from the booze. “I think you need to go home, you’ve drunk quite a bit tonight.” 

“Finn… I’m f-fine… Fine.” Kurt felt the words tumbling out of mouth, no control over what he was saying. 

“No you’re not, this has gotten out of hand, dude. Go home.” He ordered, walking Kurt to the door. 

“Fine.” Kurt didn’t want to go, he was having too much fun dancing with Blaine and laughing with the girls. But judging by the way Finn was pushing him to the door, he wasn’t wanted. 

“I’ll drive you back Kurt, I want to get out of here anyway.” Blaine offered kindly, grabbing his keys and smiling helpfully at the boy. Kurt felt confused why Blaine was offering, they didn't know each other very well. But before his drunken mind could question anymore, Blaine had slotted himself under Kurt’s arm and was walking him from the house, letting him put all of his weight on the smaller boy. 

The cold air hit him like a ton of bricks, making him feel slightly nauseous. 

“Don’t wanna go.” Kurt complained, already missing the feeling of the music pumping through his body, and the taste of the alcohol that Santana had given him. They arrived at Blaine’s car, Kurt was dropped into the front seat, and actually sunk into the warm leather when he reached it. 

“I’m taking you home Kurt, do you think you’ll be able to give me directions?” Blaine took his seat on the drivers side, and leant over to do Kurt’s seatbelt up for him. 

“Yeah.” he said lamely, turning his head to look over at Blaine, smiling lightly. He smiled shyly back, but it was more of a sympathetic smile then a genuine one. This worried Kurt. 

“Are you mad at me?” Kurt played with the buttons on his coat, looking and sounding like a five-year-old. Blaine put his keys in the ignition as the engine was brought to life. 

“I’m not mad at you Kurt, everything just got a little out of hand in there.” Kurt felt the car start to move, he knew because he felt his weight being tipped back as they accelerated. 

The two boys sat in silence for a while, and Kurt pressed his head to the window, watching the world outside him. It might’ve been the fact that his blood : alcohol ratio was way off, but he liked the smell of Blaine’s car. It was like a mixture of aftershave and coffee. He sucked his nose in to draw in the scent, and he assumed Blaine noticed because he shot him a surprised look, but Kurt couldn’t bring himself to care. He was too tired right now. 

*** 

The journey with Kurt in the car was so far pretty docile to Blaine, they didn’t talk much, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, more of an understanding one. Kurt only piped up when he needed to give Blaine directions. As rain began to fall on the car window, and he was forced to turn the wiper on, Blaine replayed the event of that night in his head. He remembered dancing with Kurt, Karofsky coming in, holding him back from lunging at the boy. Now they were here, sitting in his car and driving a drunken Kurt home. There was a question brewing in the back of his mind that he desperately wanted to ask, so just bit the bullet. 

“Why’d you get so defensive in there?” Although saying the question out loud made the answer seem obvious, Kurt was drunk. But he didn’t retract his question, he just saw Kurt from the corner of his eye turning his head to look at him properly. 

“That guy was being mean.” Blaine was sure that wasn’t the whole truth, but he wasn’t going to probe Kurt when he was so disoriented, so instead they kept driving. “Take a left here.” Kurt instructed, gesturing to a lamppost lit rode. Blaine obliged, turning in that direction as they headed down the street. Kurt then murmured for Blaine to pull over, which he did as they stopped outside a small house. Kurt opened his door and tumbled out, he tripped slightly on landing, but soon found his feet again. The rain was hammering down now, as Kurt came round to Blaine’s side of the vehicle. He leant his head into the car to avoid the rain, and Blaine felt himself shudder at the close proximity. 

“Thank you.” Kurt said quietly, head still poking through the window. It was so close to Blaine’s that he could just lean forward to connect their lips, but he wouldn’t. Not like this. If he and Kurt were going to kiss, it wouldn’t be when one of them were drunk. “For driving me home, for taking care of me, it was very nice of you.” 

“You’re welcome.” said Blaine. He paused for a moment, unsure of his wording, before continuing. “We are friends, right?” 

This got a light giggle out of Kurt as he shook his head in exasperated fondness, it was adorable. “Of course. You really helped me today, I owe you.” 

“You don’t owe me anything.” And he meant it. He honestly felt that Kurt could never show any preference for him and he wouldn’t care. So long as he was happy, that was all that mattered. He watched as Kurt retracted his head from the car and waved goodbye, Blaine waited to make sure he was inside his house before driving off. It was nice to know that he had helped Kurt, and despite the boy’s drunken state, he was grateful for it. It was nice to know that Kurt liked him. And if they were just friends for now, well Blaine couldn’t be happier. 


	5. Venti Iced Caffe Mocha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry I haven't updated this story in a while, school has just started for me so I may be a little busy. I have to admit, this story has been a bit slow so far, but I promise it will pick up the pace soon! Thanks for reading and reviewing, enjoy:)

The next morning, Kurt was feeling awful. He wrapped himself in his duvet, waves of nausea adding to the misery. His phone pinged with message after message, most of them from Santana and Quinn, asking if he was okay, but he was too exhausted to answer. His brain felt like it would swell beyond the capacity of his skull, and now his dehydration was too obvious to ignore. Again his stomach lurched and gurgled. Perhaps some painkillers would help too. He raised his heavy eyelids half way only for them to fall shut. He forced them open and swung his bare feet to the floor, wincing at the head rush he experienced as the result of being moved too quickly.

He dragged himself over to his ensuite and splashed cold water on his face, just to feel something refreshing, wishing he could wash his brain free of the toxins too. The mirror showed his eyes, no longer the glamour guy of last night, but a lattice of pink over the white, bloodshot and slightly terrifying. 

“Oh god.” Kurt pounded his head against his hands, feeling a deadly headache coming on. It was a Saturday, so it wasn’t like he had to go to school, but he still felt like walking up the stairs and pouring himself a glass of orange juice was too tasking. Then he heard his phone ringing, ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears playing from the speaker. It sounded like a gunshot. 

“Ergh.” Kurt complained, trudging over to the buzzing device and accepting the call, mostly just to shut it up. “Hello?” 

“Hummel? Is that you?” Santana’s voice reached Kurt’s ear, it sounded groggy and croaky. But as she spoke, he was forced to pull the phone further away from his ear. 

“Oh my God, why are you screaming?” That was exactly what it sounded like. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a worse hangover than I do right now.” She complained, and Kurt heard running water in the background, and then the sound of a gulp. It reminded him he should go get himself a drink, he grabbed a glass and turned the tap on. 

“Same here, I am never drinking again.” 

“I feel like death.” Kurt heard a rustling on the other end, and then the sound of keys jingling. 

"You sound like it too." 

"Hilarious, Hummel." The girl retorted sarcastically. “Quinn, Brittany and I are going to the Lima Bean today. Are you coming?” Kurt rubbed his eyes, taking a big sip of water and sighing in relief at the feeling of the liquid slipping down his dry throat. 

“Sure, why not?” Kurt checked his complexion in the mirror, 

“Great, Blaine’s coming to pick us up in five minutes. We’ll get him to swing by your house.” 

“Thanks.” 

“Hey, are you ok after last night?” 

“Well aside from the fact I feel like I just got hit by a bus, yeah I guess. Why wouldn’t I be?” Just as the words escaped Kurt’s lips, images from the previous night came flashing into his head. First they were good ones, laughing and dancing with Santana, Quinn and Mercedes. And then Blaine’s face swam into the forefront of his mind, then a blur of that neanderthal Karofsky shouting in his face. “Oh God.” He said again. This was a living nightmare. 

“I’ll see you in fifteen Hummel.” Kurt hung up the phone, and dragged himself over to his wardrobe. As he picked out his outfit, which for once was a simple pair of jeans and a loose hoodie, his head felt like an axe had been planted in it. He quickly combed his hair, not even bothering to spray it with an unnecessary amount of hairspray, and climbed the stairs. When he opened his door, he felt his eyesight struggling to cope with the sudden daylight. He fumbled as he grabbed a pair of sunglasses from a draw in the kitchen, sighing at the relief as the shades covered his eyes. 

He took a seat on one of the stools in the kitchen, trying to recover any more information from what happened last night, but came up short, his brain hurting too much to concentrate on anything for too long. He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard a car honk it’s horn from outside, making Kurt wince at the sound. Alas, he dragged himself from the seat and opened the front door, where he saw a weirdly familiar black Land Rover parked up front. He didn’t even bother to wave as he trudged down the steps and smiled weakly at the people inside. Santana, Quinn and Brittany all wore large sunglasses and baggy clothes, looking like they hadn't slept in days, whilst Blaine sat in the front seat, seeming chipper as ever. He rolled his window down and smiled at Kurt, looking practically giddy. 

“Morning!” Kurt felt his head throb at the sound, he was sure Blaine was mocking him. He rolled his eyes, although behind the large shades you couldn’t really see, and crawled into the back seat next to Quinn. 

“How’s your hangover?” She asked lamely, holding her head to her hands. Kurt couldn’t bring himself to answer, he just groaned and collapsed onto the girls shoulder. Blaine started the car and set off, as Kurt felt his stomach flip at the sudden movement. He thought back to the previous night, briefly remembering him throwing up into his toilet. The thought made him feel even worse. 

“Do you want the radio on?” Blaine was clearly teasing, his tone of voice was playful and light, but just the idea of any music right now made him feel awful. The girls all quickly told him no, besides Brittany, who was asleep on Quinn’s shoulder. 

“You all look terrible.” Blaine commented, chuckling to himself quietly. Kurt examined the girls, and realised how ridiculous they looked. Brittany was wearing an oversized purple shirt that read, ‘Best Grandma Ever’ on it's front, whilst Quinn sported a large brown skirt that reached below her knees and a fluffy sweater, while Santana wore baggy sweatpants and a tank top. Not to mention Kurt. He was sure that his hair was flopping down pathetically to either side, and his faded maroon sweater didn’t even compliment the jeans he was wearing. They all looked awful. 

“You know what Anderson, next time I’m going to elect myself as designated driver and you’ll be the one getting absolutely wasted and then dealing with the hangover the next day. And then I will pick you up from your house and I’ll turn the radio up to full volume and see how you like it then.” Santana snapped, before quickly sinking back into her seat, pulling her large sunglasses up her nose. 

“Whatever you say.” Blaine chuckled. The rest of the journey was spent in complete silence, as everyone just kept themselves to themselves and dealt with the headache they were all experiencing. As they drove, Kurt surveyed the car around him and tried to work out why it seemed so familiar, that’s when it came to him. Flashing images of Blaine supporting his weight as they walked to the vehicle, and then sitting in the car with him and being dropped home. 

“Oh God.” He muttered for the third time that day. He felt Blaine's eyes on him from the rear view mirror, but chose to ignore it, instead making a mental note to thank Blaine properly for doing that later. 

“We’re here.” He announced after a while, as they pulled up to the Lima Bean. Blaine was the first to unbuckle his seat belt and hop out from the car, before opening the door for him and the girls. Kurt climbed out first, thanking Blaine with a nod, before Quinn and Brittany followed suit. Santana climbed out from her side as they all began to walk over to the Lima Bean's entrance. Blaine led the way, pushing open the doors for them, and even taking everyone’s orders. 

“What do you want?” Blaine asked Kurt nicely, gesturing towards the menu. He thought for a second, usually he would get a ‘Grande nonfat mocha’, but he needed more of a caffeine kick today. 

“Venti Iced Caffe Mocha.” Kurt murmured, as Blaine let out a low whistle. 

“Geez, you really are hungover.” Kurt laughed, immediately regretting it when his head throbbed painfully at the sudden outburst. Blaine must’ve seen this obvious wince, because he patted Kurt lightly on the back in comfort. They all got their drinks, and went to find a seat in the corner. They chose the two couches by the fireplace that were usually lit during the winter, but was just a collection of logs piled on top of each other at that time of year. Santana and Brittany sat next to each other, Brittany laying her head on Santana’s lap whilst she stroked her hair. Kurt thought that the image was irresistibly cute. Quinn sat in one of the armchairs, sipping her coffee calmly, while Kurt took a seat by Blaine on the other couch, snuggling himself into the corner whilst the raven-haired boy sat on the other end. 

Kurt winced as he sipped his coffee - it was tepid, overly bitter and lacking real cream. It was a source of caffeine though, and so he drank like a sailor new to whiskey. 

“Geez, Hummel you finished that up quickly.” Santana remarked about two minutes later. Kurt looked down at his now empty coffee cup, where only the pathetic dregs were left. He couldn’t even remember finishing off the drink, but apparently he had just taken sips automatically. 

“You ok after last night, Kurt?” Quinn piped up from her armchair. Kurt now knew what she was referring too, as images of him lunging at Karofsky replayed in his mind. He shuddered lightly, avoiding eye contact with Blaine. Honestly, he was feeling slightly embarrassed that the boy was forced to drive him home. 

“Yeah, I can’t even recall half of what happened. I just remember Karofsky pissing me off.” Kurt put his cup down on the table and settled back into the cushions. 

“Have you heard about the new kid? Sam I think his name is.” Quinn said, clearly changing the subject, blowing on her steaming coffee calmly. “He was meant to try out for Glee Club this week, but he didn’t show.” 

“Not surprised if I’m honest. Nobody would dare join Glee right now, not after our devastating loss at Regionals last year.” Santana noted, stirring her drink. Kurt couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty at this little conversation, choosing to avoid eye contact with them, Blaine especially. He had turned down the offer to be in the club, and clearly it meant a lot to them. But he just couldn’t. 

“Did you drop me back to my house last night Blaine?” The question that had been bugging Kurt's mind slipped from his mouth before he could top himself. Blaine’s eyes widened, he started wringing his hands together nervously, Kurt was surprised by how shifty he looked. 

“Uh... yeah I did. I hope that was okay-” 

“Of course it was ok! I just wanted to thank you.” Kurt sent Blaine a small smile, before looking away sheepishly. He could’ve sworn he saw Santana and Quinn exchange a knowing smirk, but chose to ignore it. 

*** 

Blaine sat on his side of the couch as the slightly one-sided conversation continued between his four very hungover friends. It proved quite difficult to practically carry the conversation over the following half hour by himself. 

“So what do you guys have planned for the weekend?” He would ask the group. Santana chose to simply shoot him a glare from behind her shades, Brittany would flat out ignore him, Quinn would answer lamely before turning back to her coffee, whilst Kurt would shrug his shoulders and continue tracing the rum of his cup. 

Kurt. 

Even the mention of his name would make the pit of Blaine’s stomach flutter pleasantly. Blaine had been struggling ever since the party, where he had silently wished Kurt would just lean forward and kiss him, to evaluate his feelings for the boy. As he watched Kurt from the corner of his eye, gazing at the trained way he traced the hem of his jeans with the tip of his finger, he was finally able to admit to himself what he knew ever since they had first met a few mere days ago, but was too afraid to admit: he liked him. A lot. And he wanted to be with him. 

It was weird though, because his feelings toward Kurt weren’t like the silly crushes he had had on fictional characters, or on Neill Patrick Harris for example, it felt deeper than that. Like he had known the boy in some other lifetime, and they’ve only just found each other now. Whenever Kurt touched him, he felt his skin tingle and his heart beat erratically inside his ribcage so hard that he thought it might fly out. There were butterflies - no, lions - in his chest, but it felt good. How many love songs had he heard that said, “He takes my breath away”? Now that line made a lot more sense. And as much he wanted to just sing it from the rooftops, it wasn’t the right time. Not yet. 

But now that Blaine knew what that feeling was that occurred whenever he was around Kurt, that unfamiliar heavy sensation in the pit of his stomach, he felt safer when it happened. Because Blaine now knew it was the result of falling for someone, and if that someone was Kurt, well he would happily endure it for the rest of time. 


	6. Those Magic Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok... I am really sorry. I literally haven't uploaded a chapter to this story in weeks, I've just had no motivation and school just sucks. Like, I've been back two weeks and I've got so much homework argh. But I am here, and hopefully ready to write a bit more again... hopefully.  
> xoxo

Kurt smiled to himself as he pocketed his phone, having just received a text message from his father arranging for the two of them to have some bonding time that evening. It was good for them to do stuff like that, Kurt thought, he sometimes felt his dad slipping away from him at times, as they really didn’t have much in common. Of course it was ideal when he joined the Football team, because that was something they could talk about, but Kurt would love to go home to his dad and do something other than discuss how ‘practice was that day.’

As Kurt sidestepped his way into the locker rooms, he was hit with the familiar overwhelming scent of deodorant and sweaty teenage boys. It made Kurt’s nose wrinkle, and he tried to not breathe in too much as he made his way to his locker. As he began to get changed, Kurt felt slightly uncomfortable. He felt eye’s glaring into the back of his neck, and a lot of hushed conversations going on around him, along with hesitant glances and slightly disgusted faces. Kurt looked over the crowds of people once he was ready, searching for Finn’s face to explain what was going on, when his locker door was slammed shut behind him, forcing him to whip his head around to see who had caused the loud bang. Kurt felt his heartbeat quicken uncomfortably, and his hands begin to shake as he was met with two glaring eyes and flared nostrils.

Karofsky.

He didn’t know what to say or do, because the big bully wasn’t doing much either; just staring at him threateningly. One of them had to say something, or do something. Kurt felt the need to just walk away from the him, but it felt as if some sort of force was keeping him locked in his gaze.

“What are you doing in here ladyboy?” Kurt jumped slightly at the way that Karofsky spat out his words as if they were poison. “The girl’s changing rooms are next door.” Kurt noticed the way that Karofsky smirked to himself at how scared he had made him, and Kurt did not take pleasure in this. So, as he always did when faced with a terrifying situation, Kurt shoved his shoulders back and stood tall, glaring up at the boy with a similar kind of hatred.

“What is your problem with me anyway?” He tried not to flinch too obviously at the way Karofsky’s eyes flared with anger.

“My problem? Other than having a bunch of homos on the Titans now?” Kurt clenched his fists with rage, his anger that he couldn’t unleash in his drunken state last friday night all bubbling to the surface in the crowded boy’s changing rooms.

“What decade are you from… huh? Could you just back off. I haven’t done anything to hurt you or your pride and I don’t get what your issue is!” Kurt watched warily at the way Karofsky puffed out his chest with fury, releasing a long, shuddering sigh. The large boy leaned in close, so close that Kurt could feel his breath against his cheek. His hair stood up on end at the feeling.

“We’re not done here.” Karofksy stood back, relaxing his face but tightening his shoulders. “Have a good practice.” Kurt stood stock still as the boy stalked away from him into the hustle and bustle of the locker room. Kurt willed himself not to cry, forcing his brain to find motion in his limbs again so he could hide the tears forming in his eyes. While Karofsky’s words were empty and casual, his tone said differently.

‘Have a good practice.’

Kurt shuddered at the recent memory, quickly slipping into his jersey and heading out to the field, ignoring the glares he got from his fellow teammates. It all seemed to click into place at that moment, the moment the sunlight hit his pale, unblemished skin.

So that’s why they were staring at him, he thought - because of what happened at the party on Friday. Either they witnessed firsthand or Karofksy had told them, and probably hadn’t told them the full truth either. Kurt felt like kicking everyone there square in the balls. He was furious. After escaping his last school due to the homophobia, Kurt could hardly believe that he had just transferred to one that seemed to hold a similar amount, but at a much higher level.

He felt sick to his stomach at the thought of enduring this for the next two years, just after thinking that his time at this school would be any better than the last. He was going to be forced to play by the familiar protocol of walking through the halls with his head down, dodging bullies, taunts, jabs, jibes, avoiding eye contact, moving in a hurried scurry, shoulders hunched, desperate to be inconspicuous, perching at the lunch table, waiting, another day, another ordeal, six hours will drag by every day, tick tock, tick tock for the next two years. And Kurt dreaded every second.

***

“Lazy, sloppy, useless babies! That was the most visually and vocally boring routine I have ever been forced to sit through! Next time at least try to entertain me! Now get your untalented butts to the showers and walk back to your homes in shame!” Coach Sue called through her megaphone at the end of practice, as the Cheerios all balanced on the ridiculously high pyramid they had built to finish the routine. Everyone sighed, climbing down carefully and grabbing drinks of water. Blaine jogged over to Quinn, Santana and Brittany, offering them some of his drink kindly.

“Thanks.” Quinn said, clearly out of breath as she chugged half of the bottle down. Santana swung her bag over her shoulder, Brittany doing the same as the three began to walk from the gym.

‘Kurt just texted me, he said he’s waiting outside for us with his car.” Santana said as they went, pocketing her phone.

“Is Kurt dropping you guys home?” Blaine asked with far too much obvious interest, his ears spiking up at the mention of the chestnut haired football player’s name. He tried to hide the blush that began creeping up his cheeks as Quinn raised her eyebrows curiously, and slightly suggestively.

“Yeah he is… I’m sure if you asked you could come along. He’s been wanting to repay you for helping him out on friday, so this could be that opportunity.” Although the idea of spending a long car journey with a sober Kurt Hummel sounded heavenly, Blaine was having his mom pick him up. He was about to explain this to Quinn with regret, when his phone buzzed conveniently.

FROM: MOM Hey Blainers, I’m so sorry sweetheart but I’m stuck in some serious traffic. Do you think you could wait for me? I might be quite a while though xoxo

“Hey guys, do you think Kurt would let me come with you guys? Turns out my mom’s stuck in traffic.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” Santana said slyly, sharing an obvious ‘look’ with Quinn.

TO: MOM Don’t worry, my friend Kurt is driving me and the girl’s home, so don’t panic! Xx

FROM: MOM Ok sweetie, make sure to thank your friend for me! Xoxo

Blaine felt like jumping for joy right there in the middle of the hallway as he pocketed his phone. He wanted to punch the air and scream with pure happiness.

He would be sharing a car with Kurt Hummel.

And not only that, but Blaine knew his house was furthest away, therefore spending a lot of time alone with a perfectly sober Kurt (unlike last time). But instead of doing so, he casually explained the situation to the girl’s and continued to walk through the school nonchalantly.

“You alright there, Anderson?” Santana looked over at him knowingly. Blaine was desperately trying to contain the giddy grin he was wearing on his face, trying and failing to fight it off.

“Yeah I’m fine, just in a good mood.” He sing-songed happily. Blaine knew he was definitely far too excited than a normal person would be after hearing the news of finally getting to share some time alone with Kurt. He had only known him for a short period of time, but something about the boy… moved him. It was a weird, indescribable feeling. And that feeling only increased when they walked out and into the parking lot, where Blaine was met with the sight of Kurt casually leaning up against his car, dressed in casual skinny jeans and a black jacket. His hair was swept upward and tall as ever, a look that made Blaine want to whimper. He silently wished his own hair possessed the same natural elegance. He admired the way that the reflections of the sun made the sharp contours of Kurt’s face only more prominent.

“Hey Kurt!” Brittany said happily, as they caught up to the boy waiting by his car. Blaine felt his stomach flutter at the way Kurt’s face lit up at the sight of the three girls.

“Hey, how was practice?”

“Oh you know, Coach Sue was cruel as ever.” Kurt laughed at Quinn's words, opening the door to allow the three girls to clamber in, Santana ruffling his hair as she passed. Kurt fixed it immediately, shooting her a playful look. “Do you think you could drop Blaine home too? His mom can’t make it.” Now Kurt’s eyes were trained on him, and he was grinning happily at now. Blaine felt his brain short circuit.

“Of course! The least I can do.” Kurt gave Blaine one last smile, before climbing into the driver’s side. Blaine released a breath he didn’t even realise he was holding.

“You can sit up front, Blaine!” Santana called, smirking mischievously. He watched as the latina winked at him, before slamming her side of the door shut and gesturing to the passenger seat, right next to Kurt. Blaine rolled his eyes at the girl’s ‘matchmaking’ skills, but calmly made his way round to the other side of the car nonetheless, and climbed in.

As he settled into the comfortable, soft leather, Blaine suddenly realised how great the car smelled. It was a weird thing to say out loud, but it did smell so intoxicatingly good. Somehow, it had the aroma of roses, bathing you in a thick, relaxing perfume. It was a smell that when described sounded so delicate, but had a manly like essence to it that was so very Kurt. Blaine wanted to sink into the smell, and let it engulf him. If only.

Kurt revved the engine, focing Blaine to awake from his small daydream. They pulled out of the parking lot and set off along the smooth highway.

“How was practise, Kurt?” Quinn asked absentmindedly, twirling her hair and staring out the window. Blaine looked over at him from the passenger side, and was quite surprised at the way that Kurt’s body freezed up at the question, his eyes widening and his posture grew stiff. It was odd.

“Uh… yeah it was fine.” Blaine furrowed his eyebrows at the way his voice shook with worry, clearly trying to hide something. And apparently Quinn and Santana had noticed it as well, because they were staring at him with equal concern. It seemed as if one of them was about to ask if something was wrong, but Brittany interjected before anyone could speak, apparently not reading the situation too well.

“Can you put some music on, Kurt?” Brittany said sweetly, batting her eyelids at twirling her hair. Blaine heard Santana scoff with disgust, and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness for his friend. “OMG! Can you play Spice Girls?”

“No.” Kurt said immediately in a monotone voice while shaking his head stubbornly, making Blaine giggle. A chorus of protests came from the backseat shortly after, even from Quinn and Santana.

“Oh come on!”

“You’re so boring.”

“They’re amazing!”

“Kuuurrtt.” Santana whined in a childish voice, reaching forward to shove his shoulder playfully.

“Excuse me, I’m driving.” His tone was serious, but Blaine could see a smile playing at his lips.

“Blaine, could you please tell him to play a song from one of the best bands of all time?” Quinn asked. Blaine glanced over at Kurt warily, who had pressed his lips in a tight line to contain his giggles. He blushed furiously when Kurt broke his gaze from the road for a fraction of a second to look over at Blaine, with playfully pleading eyes.

“The people have spoken.” He gestured to the girl’s waiting with anticipation in the back seat, who all cheered in triumph. Kurt rolled his eyes, regretfully sliding in the CD to play The Spice Girls. Blaine shrugged at the look of mocked annoyance Kurt wore on his face as the opening notes to ‘Wannabe’’ began to play. When the song reached the first chorus, Blaine wasn’t ashamed to admit that he found himself dancing and singing along to the lyrics, laughing at the way Kurt refused to join in.

The car journey continued much like that, as the girl’s demanded more and more songs. After sitting through ‘Say You’ll Be There’, Kurt pulled up to Brittany’s house, as they all waved goodbye to the girl as she clambered out from the car. Then Quinn’s house about five minutes later, before finally pulling up to Santana’s home, which looked much cleaner than it did when visiting it last Friday night. It only really occurred to Blaine that it was just him and Kurt in the car once Santana had shut the door behind her and was walking off.

“Ok, I’m turning off this shit.” Kurt gestured toward the stereo. “I’m in the mood for some Grease.” He turned the music off, silencing the car so that it was only the two of them chuckling quietly.

“You’re the boss.” He said happily. Blaine watched as the opening notes to ‘Those Magic Changes’ from Grease began to play. “Ahh, good choice.”

“This song is honestly so underrated.” Blaine hummed in agreement, before realising something that he found far too exciting.

“You like musical theatre?” He asked.

“Oh yeah.” Kurt said immediately, not missing a beat. Blaine glanced over at the boy from his side of the car, watching the way the soft music seemed to relax him.

“Favourite musical?”

“Ooooh… that has got to be a tie between ‘Falsettos’ and ‘Company.’” This surprised Blaine, he didn’t know why, but it just did.

“Good choices.”

“What about you?” Blaine knew his answer already, blurting it out immediately.

“Hedwig and the Angry Inch, easily.”

“Oh I love that one.” There was silence for a moment, and when Blaine looked over at Kurt, he saw the way the boy looked out of the window with a dreamy, vacant expression. “You know one day, I’m gonna star as ‘Whizzer’ in the Broadway revival of Falsettos.”

God he would be perfect for that part, Blaine thought to himself. He pictured Kurt walking onto the stage in the iconic green button-up shirt and pants Whizzer wears, and the tight tennis uniform in Act Two. Blaine almost felt bad for fantasizing, so tried to articulate words so he wouldn’t delve into any deeper thoughts.

“That’s a cool aspiration.” Blaine said, before a realisation dawned over him. He thought back to the conversation he had had with Kurt the week before, he remembered a specific phrase in particular: ‘I’m not even a very good singer’. If he wanted to be on Broadway then he had to be able to sing, especially as Whizzer. Apparently Kurt had noticed his mistake in saying this two, because he was cringing to himself nervously and look wary. “Wait hang on…” Blaine started, watching as Kurt sighed and dropped his head slightly, but resolutely keeping his eyes on the road.

“Oh no, I shouldn’t have said that.” Kurt began, hitting his palm to his head in annoyance.

“You told me you couldn’t sing!” Blaine accused.

“Uhhh… I can’t?” The sarcasm dripping from Kurt’s voice made Blaine smile.

“No, you just told me you wanted to be on Broadway.” He pointed his index figure to emphasise his point.

“Urgh, fine you caught me.” Kurt admitted. “I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings when I didn’t join your Glee Club, I felt bad.”

“I cannot believe you, Kurt Hummel - ‘the pathological liar.’” Blaine smirked, panic taking over when he saw Kurt frown slightly. “Hey, it’s fine don’t worry!” He insisted quickly, before turning his attention to the song, as the final part of ‘Those Magic Changes’ played through the speakers. An idea sparked in him. “Can you sing for me?”

“Oh no.” Kurt said immediately

“Please? Kuuurrtt.” Blaine turned the volume up on the radio, gesturing to it.

“No, I’m not doing it.”

“Pretty please with a cherry on top?” Blaine tilted his head to the side, giving his best ‘puppy-dog’ eyes to Kurt, a trick that always worked with his friends. Kurt turned his head and looked at him, scoffing when he saw Blaine’s face and shaking his head.

“Blaine Anderson, I am going to tell you this now to save you a lot of time and energy, but I am not going to give in to your puppy eyes.” Blaine blushed deeply.

“Whatever you say.” They sat in silence for a while, Kurt driving along the road and Blaine staring out the window, bobbing his head to the music still playing in the background. But as his head bobbing turned to a gentle hum, Blaine couldn’t help himself, and began to sing along.

_Those magic changes_

_My heart arranges_

_A melody that's never the same_

_A melody that's calling your name_

_And begs you please come back to me_

_Please return to me_

_Don't go away again_

_Oh make them play again_

When Blaine started singing, Kurt shook his head and pressed his lips in a tight line, a trick Blaine knew was to contain him bursting into song. But as he became more and more sure that Kurt would not join in, he started to quieten his singing in defeat. But looked up with shock when Kurt opened his mouth, and his beautiful lilting voice began to sing softly.

_The music I wanna hear as once again_

_You whisper in my ear_

_Oh, my darling, uh huh I'll be waiting by the radio_

_You'll come back to me someday, I know_

Blaine opened his eyes wide, so that his eyebrows reached his hairline. Kurt’s voice was smooth and clear and quiet yet powerful. Soothing, in a way. Blaine tipped his head back against the leather rest, gazing at Kurt lovingly, completely shocked and impressed. His voice was incredible. Many duet ideas sprung to mind immediately. Blaine couldn’t help but join in.

_Been so lonesome since our last goodbye_

_But I'm singing as I cry-ay-ay_

_While the bass is sounding_

_While the drums are pounding_

_Beatings of my broken heart_

_Will rise to first place on the charts_

Blaine was impressed by how easily he slipped back into the song, they even harmonised. Kurt kept looking at him with an impressed expression whenever he went higher or lower or did runs with his voice, and Blaine did the same whenever Kurt just sang. His voice was jaw dropping.

_Oh, my heart arranges_

_Oh, those magic changes_

_Oh oh, oh oh oh oh_

_Oh oh, oh oh oh oh_

_Oh, yeah_

The song came to an end, and they both shared a gaze as the notes faded away. When Kurt had to tear his eyes away to look at the road, Blaine expressed his astonishment. “You really can sing!” Blaine loved the way Kurt smiled at the compliment. “That was amazing!”

“What can I say? I am talented in so many ways.” Blaine laughed. Kurt’s voice was sarcastic, but his words were so true.

“That you are.” He gazed out of the window, thinking of how he would stage duets with Kurt, their voices just go so well together. “God, if you weren’t so stubborn you would be a great asset to Glee club.”

“I told you, I-”

“Don’t want to ruin your reputation before it’s even begun because you’re so new to the school.” Blaine finished for him. Kurt looked shifty, giving him a sad look from the driver's side. Hw shrugged. “Don’t worry I get it.”

“It’s just… this school isn’t as friendly as it seems.”

“It’s definitely not.”

“That guy - Karofsky from Santana’s party is a monster. He cornered me in the locker rooms today and I just felt so…” Kurt struggled to find the word’s for a moment.“Helpless.” This question begged the question again, because it had been something Blaine had been wondering ever since they first met. Quinn said that Kurt had transferred to McKinley from another school, so Blaine just assumed that it had something to do with his family moving. But Santana had made a throwaway comment that the boy had lived in Ohio his whole life.

“Hey Kurt, can I ask you something?” He nodded, Blaine hesitated slightly before continuing, still not one hundred percent sure if it was an appropriate time to ask this certain question. “Why’d you leave your last school?” There was a pause, and Kurt widened his eyes. Blaine noticed the way his posture stiffened and his breathing went short and quick, like it did when Quinn asked him how practice was earlier. He cleared his throat.

“Bullying.” Kurt paused noticeably. “Homophobia specifically.” Blaine was momentarily stunned, of course homophobia wasn’t just a McKinley thing, he knew that, but he just saw Kurt and never thought that anyone would try and pick on him. A small tinkling noise in the back of his brain told him that Kurt may be gay. And if Kurt may be gay, then his type may be abnormally short boys with raven hair and a Cheerios uniform. But he had to be sure.

“Are you…”

“Gay? Yeah.” Kurt finished. Blaine felt a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach, the question that had been tugging at his mind ever since he had met Kurt in the locker rooms was finally answered. He wanted to assure Kurt that he was two, but the boy continued, not allowing Blaine to do so. “But that doesn’t matter, though, does it? They shouldn’t do it either way. That’s why I’m not really telling many people at McKinley, because it doesn’t matter if I’’m gay or straight, or if I bedazzle my letterman jacket or not.” Blaine chuckled. “People shouldn’t assume. Just because you guys join Glee club doesn’t mean you’re all automatically gay. I mean, I’m not joining Glee club because I don’t want to get harassed for something that I don’t really care that much about.” Blaine wouldn’t admit that stung a little, but didn’t mention it.

“I completely agree with you, homophobia is a big problem.” Blaine started, feeling like he wanted to say more, but didn’t know quite how to put it. He just said the first thing that he was thinking, and the one thing he wanted to be very clear about. “Me too by the way.” Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine, unsure of what he meant. “I’m gay too I mean.” Surprisingly, Kurt smirked to himself. “What?” Blaine was quietly shocked by the reaction. Kurt seemed to be struggling to find the word’s, but managed to articulate a sentence anyway.

“It’s just… my gay-dar has kinda been going off the scales about you, but I didn’t want to say anything because I feel like that would disprove the point I was making earlier. Blaine laughed heartily, smiling so wildly the corners of his mouth creased. They giggled together for a while, but a comfortable silence replaced the hysterics, and they sat, staring at the lamp posts instead.

“I uh- I’m sorry about your last school.” Blaine started, stumbling over his words nervously, something that usually never happened.

“Don’t be, it’s fine.”

“No it’s not.” He insisted. “I mean, you run from your last school to escape bullying, and within your first week here you’re already being tormented.” Kurt nodded, clearly feeling everything Blaine had described.

“Yeah, it sucks. But you know what’s different about this school to my last?” Blaine gestured for him to continue, turning his head to give Kurt his full attention. “I have friends here.” This comment broke Blaine’s heart and mended it at the same time. He could hardly believe that Kurt was ever that lonely. It made him want to reach out and take the boy in his arms and hug him, tell him he won’t ever let that happen to him again.

“Like me?” Blaine asked quietly. He wasn’t really meant to say it out loud, he wanted to just think it to himself quietly, but the words escaped his lips nonetheless. Blaine glanced nervously over at Kurt, who was smiling to himself.

“Like you.” He returned. Blaine blushed furiously, turning his head to look out the window instead. Kurt did the same, and they fell back into that tense, wary silence. A silence that Kurt interrupted moments later.

“We’ve gotten too serious, change of subject?” Kurt took a sharp left hand turn, making Blaine jolt in his seat slightly.

"Ok." He smiled, glancing at Kurt. 

"What is your..." Kurt's eyebrows twisted, apparently deciding how to finish the question."... Favourite jukebox musical?"

"Easy, Mamma Mia." Blaine looked over at Kurt, expecting to see the same look of appreciation and agreement as he did before, but Kurt was tutting and shaking his head. "What?" He said through his smile.

"Wrong answer." Kurt stated, reaching forward and playing with the dials of the radio, turning it down.

"Ok, fine. What's _your_ favourite jukebox musical?"

"Moulin Rouge." The question was answered before Blaine could even finish talking, immediate. 

“What’s that?” Blaine asked absentmindedly, unsure of what Kurt was referring to. But when he turned to face the boy, he was surprised to see the pure and utter shock that had spread across his face

“What do you mean ‘what’s that?’” Kurt said with wide eyes. “Oh dear lord… please tell me you know what Moulin Rouge is.”

“Sorry to disappoint, Mr Hummel, but I do not.” Kurt pretended to gag, making Blaine laugh far too hard.

“Seriously? Come What May? Nicole Kidman? One of the best movie soundtracks of the century in my opinion? Nothing? Not ringing any bells?” Blaine kept shaking his head, shrugging when he was sure Kurt was done listing. “Ok we are no longer on speaking terms.” He knew that Kurt was joking when he said this, but Blaine had to admit, this probably panicked him more than it should have.

“Hey! What is it? Educate me.” He reasoned.

“Moulin Rouge is a cinematic and stage masterpiece in my opinion, and I am actually ashamed you haven’t watched it or listened to the incredible soundtrack.”

“Is it really that good?”

“It’s amazing!” Kurt said without missing a beat, before stopping the car abruptly and turning off the engine. Blaine didn’t know why, and was only reminded that they had arrived at his house when he looked out the window to see lights on in his home. He had actually forgotten for a moment that the car journey had an intended destination, he was just having too much fun with Kurt to recall that. “Ok… Here's what’s gonna happen. I’m going to give you my phone number, and I’m gonna text you and force you to watch Moulin Rouge with me because you are seriously missing out!” Blaine felt his heart jump at the idea, but kept his face neutral on the outside.

“Whatever you say.” He teased, handing Kurt his phone to type his number into it. Once he was done, he handed it back with a gentle smile, which Blaine returned

“Ok, now get out. I’m already over my curfew which means Dad is gonna kill me.” Blaine laughed and opened the car door, climbing out in a slightly disorganised mess. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kurt called from the car, before revving the engine in preparation.

“Bye!” Blaine waved as the black vehicle drove off, not leaving the sidewalk he stood on until the car had completely disappeared from view. Once he was sure it had, Blaine actually did a victory jump. He was sure he looked like an idiot, dancing around on the corner of the street, but he couldn’t help it.

He had Kurt Hummel’s phone number. He had it. Blaine wanted to scream it from the rooftops, but for now, jumping around with buzzing excitement would do. Not only that, but Kurt had clarified that he was gay, so Blaine had a shot. As he replayed the conversation in his head, Blaine realised something.

Did Kurt… ask him on a date?

Was that what the movie invite was? Or is that something friends do? Blaine wasn’t sure. But it didn’t matter, because he had Kurt Hummel’s phone number, and he was almost one hundred percent sure that the boy had flirted with him once or twice. (Although it wasn’t like Blaine was innocent either). He made his way upstairs and collapsed onto his ready made bed, it felt quite cliche the way he did so, like he was in a romcom and was the soppy, lovestruck main character. Blaine buried his head into his pillows and grinned broadly. The air grew thick with a tenderness that couldn’t help but make him breathe slower, deeper, happier. He had a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was all just schmoopy fluff and I'm not even sorry.


	7. Funny Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope you're all doing good! Let me know what y'all think of this chapter cause I don't know if I like it or not

Blaine tossed his phone anxiously from hand to hand, as he lay face down on his bed staring at the wall. He had just gotten home from school, and despite the fact he had been given a ton of homework, it had been a pretty good day. Coach Sue told him he was, quote unquote, ‘good’ in practice that day. Which on her terms is pretty much the best you can get. And after insisting they do ‘Britney’ week in Glee club, Mr Schue had given in and they were doing a number at the assembly. The only downside was that Schue insisted he perform with them, which Blaine wasn’t entirely comfortable with, but the man was on some sort of weird mission and did not back-down.

Blaine put his phone down pointedly, and walked over to his desk, staring at the large pile of homework he had stacking up. He sat down with a groan, and began to write. As he did so however, his thoughts drifted elsewhere. Sure his body and hands were copying down notes, but his brain was distracted, flooded by a fond conversation he had experienced with a certain chestnut-haired kicker earlier that day...

_Blaine hooked his thumb around the strap of his leather satchel, walking confidently down the hallway. As per usual, kids parted like the red sea as he strutted down. Unlike other ‘popular’ students at the school, Blaine didn’t want to be feared. He would smile charmingly at people, or use his power as head cheerleader to make any moronic bullies back off their prey. Blaine lived by the word’s that Mercedes had told him during their first session of Glee club together:_

_Nobody likes an asshole._

_So that is what he strived to not be, it was one of the thing’s Blaine had to thank the club for. He had not been a particularly nice person before joining, but it wasn’t something he liked to think about._

_“Blaine!” Blaine spun round, darting his eyes back-and-forth from student to student, trying to find the person who called his name. Shortly after however, he felt a hand on his arm, and turned back round, to see a pair of metallic eyes shining at him radiantly. Blaine looked away shyly._

_“Oh! Hey, Kurt!” Blaine breathed, scratching the back of his neck and looking at the ground. He had found that that was a nervous habit, and had only come to the realization since knowing Kurt of what it was._

_“Hi!” Kurt said brightly, releasing Blaine’s shoulder. “How’s your day going?”_

_“Uh… fine, I guess?” Blair replied quizzically. It was slightly odd of Kurt to approach him so randomly in the hallway (not that he was complaining) but it seemed like the boy did have something more he wanted to say, so Blaine pressed on. “Mr Schue agreed to let the New Directions do a Britney Spears number at the assembly this week.” Blaine smirked at the way Kurt’s eyes lit up at the mention. Ever since Blaine had discovered Kurt’s incredible singing voice, he had not so sneakily decided to litter in Glee club anecdotes in conversations with him, in hope that Kurt would eventually crack under pressure and sign-up._

_“Ooh I love Britney Spears!”_

_Ok… Kurt’s enthusiasm was a little odd, Blaine thought. Maybe he had drunk one too many cups of coffee that morning and was on a caffeine high, or something more was at play._

_“Yeah uh… me too.” Blaine decided to rip the band aid off. “Do you need something Kurt?” Kurt instantly stopped bobbing on his heel nervously, and sighed. He didn’t lose any confidence, Blaine noticed, but he was definitely right about there being more that Kurt wanted to say._

_“Yeah actually… I just wanted to say thank you.” Kurt said trepidatiously._

_“What do you have to thank me for?” Blaine asked._

_“For talking to me the other day.” Kurt looked down shiftily. “It felt nice to say it out loud. You know… about my old school and stuff, and what I’ve been feeling lately, to talk to someone who understood, so I just wanted to thank you.” It had been two days since Kurt had dropped Blaine home, and the two had had a rather serious conversation about the homophobia and bullying that plagued McKinley High School during that car ride. It was sweet of Kurt, but he really did have nothing to say thank you for._

_“You’re welcome, Kurt.” He smiled confidently at Kurt, who nodded slowly, reaching out and patting Blaine on the shoulder, sending shocks and shivers slithering up Blaine’s arm as he did so. His touch was electric. Alas, Kurt released him and turned to leave, but turned at the last minute to face Blaine again, looking hesitant._

_“You’re a really good guy, Blaine. It’s nice to know there’s someone to talk to.” Kurt said suddenly, smiling at Blaine with sheer confidence. Blaine blushed._

_“Likewise, Kurt.” He said it almost a whisper, and cleared his throat to try and regain the voice that he had so dramatically lost. Kurt nodded, re-adjusting his satchel and walking from Blaine._

_“I’ll text you about Moulin Rouge by the way. Because you’ve really gotta watch that.” Kurt called over his shoulder. Blaine chuckled and looked up at the retreating boy. “I’m serious, you’re incredibly uncultured I hope you know!”_

_“See you around!” Blaine put his hand up in the air to wave goodbye, an action that Kurt mirrored. He shot Blaine one last look over his shoulder, smiling, before turning the corner and disappearing out of sight._

_A loud buzzing next to Blaine’s ear awoke him from his daydream. Although it started as a daydream, judging by the way Blaine had to peel his face from his desk leaving papers stuck to his cheek, means he had probably fallen asleep accidentally. Nevertheless, he reached his hand out and searched for his phone. Opening it up, there was one unread message from a number Blaine didn’t recognise._

FROM: UNKNOWN NUMBER Hey Blaine, it’s Kurt! Just wanted to see if you wanted to come over after school tomorrow? Just to prepare you, I will be forcing you to watch Moulin Rouge with me ;)

Blaine felt his stomach flip as he read the message over. Quickly, with fumbling fingers, he began to write a reply.

_Hi Kurt! It’s Blaine, I would love to hang out with you tomorrow…_

Shaking his head, Blaine deleted the text, deciding to start over.

_Oh hi! I’ll have to check if I’m free…_

No. That was too harsh, and also not true. He was definitely free tomorrow. Erase. Start again.

TO: KURT Hey Kurt! I’m free tomorrow and would love to hang out. Plus I’m interested in that film you were talking about, see if it lives up to the hype ;)

Blaine pressed send, feeling happy with his reply. He felt his heart hammering inside his chest as Kurt wrote out his reply.

FROM: KURT Oh trust me, you won’t be disappointed...

Blaine smiled.

TO: KURT I’m sure I won’t!

FROM: KURT I’ll forward you my home address:)

A moment later, Blaine’s phone pinged, with the address of one Kurt Hummel. He smiled at it, squeezing his phone triumphantly and flopping down on his bed. He rolled over and checked his clock.

22:43

Yeah, Blaine needed to go to bed. He quickly changed into his pajamas, red checkered bottoms and a loose grey top, before washing out his hair gel in the sink. When he came back from the bathroom, his phone screen was lighting up, alerting him he had an unread message.

FROM: KURT Can’t wait :)

***

Kurt dumped his satchel by the door, peeling off his coat and hanging it on the wooden rack. The house had an odour of paint coming from up the stairs. He wrinkled his nose at the smell, before reminding himself of the events earlier that day. He had woken up to that same odour, but much more prominent. His Dad had decided that the wallpaper in his bedroom was far too old and he wanted to take it down and paint over it. Kurt agreed, he had been noticing the way it peeled in the corners for months, the way it was cracked and stained. He was glad his Dad had decided to give into his son’s nagging. Although, Kurt wasn’t sure what had brought on the sudden change of heart. He was sure he would find out soon enough.

“Hey buddy! How was your day?” Burt called from the kitchen. Kurt entered, to see his Father perched on one of the bar stools, drinking a cup of coffee over the newspaper.

“It was... fine I guess.” Kurt scanned the sparse shelves of the fridge for food. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, it had just become a habit ever since joining McKinley, where the cafeteria’s food was truly inedible, that he had to wait until after the school day was finished to eat, but Kurt was fussy like that. He refused to put the inhumane ‘tots’ into his body that the lunch ladies served, a food that his new friend Mercedes seemed to like very much.

“They have zero nutritional value.” He had told the girl in the lunch line earlier that day, to which she replied with some unjustified argument about the balls of deep fried potato being vegetables. Kurt remembered rolling his eyes playfully at her.

After taking the ingredients he needed, Kurt made his way over to the chopping board and got to work, when his phone buzzed.

FROM: BLAINE Hey! We still on for tonight?

Kurt’s eyes widened, screwing up his face in annoyance. He had completely forgotten to ask his Dad whether it was ok for him to invite a friend over, and he knew that Burt was always a bit weird about that. Especially since Kurt had recently discover that Blaine was actually gay, so Burt was sure to have his suspicions. But it wasn’t like Kurt was interested in any of that right now, he liked Blaine, but as a friend. Kurt has thought that perhaps something may have happened between them when they first met, and Kurt was sure Blaine had flirted with him once or twice, but he just wanted to survive high school right now. He wasn’t interested in a boyfriend.

“Hey Dad?” Kurt looked over at Burt, who raised an eyebrow quizzically, gesturing for him to continue. “I invited a friend over to watch a movie tonight, is that ok?”

“Yeah of course. Is it that Quinn girl?”

“No it’s not Quinn. It’s my friend Blaine.” Kurt looked over at his father, who had snapped his head up and was smirking knowingly.

“What is it a guy?” Kurt ducked his head at his father’s words, smiling to himself as he choked back a laugh.

“Yeah a guy.” Kurt heard his Dad make a low suggestive noise in his throat, and he rolled his eyes playfully. “No, it’s not like that!” He insisted, despite his father’s subtle looks from the corner of his eye. “He’s just a friend, it’s nice to talk to someone who understands.”

“Someone who’s-”

“Gay? Yeah.” He finished for him with a smile. Burt nodded slowly, adjusting his baseball cap and clearing his throat.

“Well that’s fine, no funny business-”

“Dad!” Kurt exclaimed quickly, before his father could elaborate.

“Just checking.” Burt got up and left the kitchen, ruffling Kurt’s hair (much to his dismay) and leaving the kitchen.

***

Blaine pulled up to the Hummel’s house, checking his watch as he felt the car jolt to a stop.

19:26

He was four minutes early, so decided to wait in the car a little longer. Looking up at Kurt’s house, Blaine felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. A good feeling. The house radiated such warmth and happiness even from a distance, it made Blaine smile. He was not too sure what Kurt’s home life was like, but the yellowish glow coming from the windows and the well kept lawn seemed promising.

As Blaine stepped out from the car, and walked up the pathway that separated the two sides of the garden, he began to suddenly feel the nerves of the following evening take over him. He curled his fingers into the palm of his hand, not even feeling them dig in. His mouth was full of sawdust and his brain was malfunctioning as much as if he were drunk.

The worst part of it was that Blaine didn’t know if it was a date or not. It felt like a date. Watching a movie together, engrossed in the film but stealing subtle glances, gently grazing fingertips as they sit quietly side by side. That was what Blaine wanted to happen at least. Alas, he walked up to the door and raised his hand to ring the doorbell, took a deep breath, and forced himself to hit the door. He heard the "ding-dong" sound coming from inside, and someone running to get the door. It opened up slowly, and Kurt’s warm face appeared in front of him, making Blaine grin broadly. He was sure his eyes lit up far too obviously, but couldn’t bring himself to care as Kurt stood there so handsomely.

“Blaine!” Kurt exclaimed. “Come in.” Blaine stepped inside, pulling his hands from his pockets and rubbing them together. As Kurt leant forwards to close the door, making Blaine shudder as the boy’s arm grazed his back accidentally as he did so, he took in the house. It was welcoming from the open door to the wide hallway. Upon the walls were the photographs of Kurt, some from his childhood and others more recent, he was so obviously loved. The floor was an old-fashioned parquet with a blend of deep homely browns, and the banister was a twirl of a branch, tamed by the carpenter's hand.

Blaine snapped his head round sharply as a gruff man entered from an archway. He was broad, wearing an orange flannel shirt and a baseball cap. Blaine was quietly surprised, assuming by the amount of photographs around the hallway, that he was Kurt’s father. The man did not look at all like he suspected Kurt’s Dad to look like, although he didn’t really know what to suspect.

“You must be, Blaine.” The man extended his hand, Blaine inaudibly noted it was grime covered and blackened. “I’m Burt, Kurt’s father.” He nodded, accepting the handshake, trying to ignore the feeling of oil meeting his own hand at the interaction.

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Blaine flashed a charming smile Burt’s way, before releasing his grip and turning back to Kurt, who had become suddenly very interested with his watch, fiddling with the straps nervously.

“Well you kids have fun, I’ll just be in the kitchen if you need me.” Burt turned and withdrew through the archway he had recently entered in a mere few moments ago. “And don’t stay up too late! It’s a school night.” The man called over his shoulder as he trudged back into the kitchen. He sighed, smiling to himself happily at the retreating figure.

“Cool, thanks Dad!” Kurt cried back, laughing far too endearingly. Blaine turned back to the boy, becoming suddenly aware that they were alone. He stared at his feet and knitted his hands together nervously.

“Come on… I’ve got Moulin Rouge ready and waiting, along with tissue and a bowl of popcorn.” Before Blaine knew it, Kurt had grabbed his hand carefully and was dragging him over to a small door by the stairs. Kurt’s hand was warm and inviting, it made him feel weirdly giddy and elevated. When he did eventually let go as they came to a halt, Blaine couldn’t help but feel like his own hand was empty and cold without the light weight of Kurt’s in his.

“You’ve got a basement?” Blaine asked as the door was pushed open and the two boys made their way down the steps.

“Yeah, this is my room.” Kurt said as he switched the light on and the space was illuminated by a sharp white glow. Blaine raised his eyebrows at the sight before him. Every wall was painted a crystal white, plastered over the stone in a stylish manner. He let out a low, appreciative whistle at the large vanity, decked in products and lotions. Blaine allowed his eyes to wander to the other side of the room, where a large bookshelf stood, stacked to the brim with old classics and leather bound covers, giving the room a more vintage edge to balance out the modern style it held.

There was a swinging chair in the corner and large musical theatre posters and playbills hung above the bed. Blaine mentally noted down some of them as good conversation starters in the future. There was Wicked, Falsettos, Les Misérables, Rent, The Phantom of the Opera, Company, and many more. It was impressive.

“Wow.” Blaine breathed, surveying the room even more as Kurt took a seat on his bed, which was white also. Creamy linen and soft cushions draped across it.

“Thanks.” Kurt half-laughed, smiling from his bed. Blaine brought his eyes over to the boy, feeling his heart rate increase rapidly at the sight before him. Kurt was elegantly sprawled across his bed, looking so relaxed and comfortable, yet at the same time every action looked planned. Blaine felt his body tense as he leaned over and took his laptop from his bedside table, and placed it down at the foot of the bed.

“Sit down, you. I promised you Moulin Rouge and that is exactly what you’re getting.” Kurt ordered, shuffling over and patting the space next to him, gesturing for Blaine to settle down beside him. Hesitating slightly, Blaine took the offer, and slid onto the bed, making sure a good few centimetres remained between him and Kurt. It only really hit him in that moment the close proximity between him and the boy. He could feel and hear every breath Kurt took, and shuddered each time, despite his efforts in trying to fight the inevitable quiver. “Are you ready for this cinematic masterpiece?” Kurt said as the opening credits began to role, breaking off Blaine from his thoughts.

“I am ready, this better be as good as you’ve built it up to be.” Blaine teased, as Kurt settled a bowl of freshly popped popcorn between them.

“Oh, trust me, you won't be disappointed.” And then the music began to play, and the movie began.

They sat, engrossed, barely noticing the popcorn that failed to make it to their slack mouths. Blaine had to admit, he was enjoying the film. He could see why Kurt liked it so much. He liked the ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’ sequence, but that was mostly because when the song began to play Kurt clapped his hands together and sang along far too cutely, making Blaine blush crimson.

“Ok, this is by far the most romantic song ever.” Kurt said with excitement as the opening notes to a song Blaine vaguely recognised began to play. “Come What May… an absolute masterpiece.” Kurt said, sighing and tilting his head to watch the screen. Despite the fact that Blaine truly was enjoying the film, he found it difficult to focus his mind on the laptop, because all that would happen was his eyes would wander over to watch Kurt, who was clutching the hem of the bed sheets and quietly singing along to the lyrics.

“You really love this movie don't you?” Blaine found himself saying, as Kurt sighed and leant his head back against the dashboard lovingly.

“It's incredible and the soundtrack is amazing.” Kurt explained, as Blaine watched and listened intently, not taking his eyes from Kurt’s face glowing in the dim light. “This is the only original song in the movie, and in my opinion, singing Come What May to someone is a more intimate act than sex.” Kurt stated matter-of-factly, taking a tissue from his pocket and dabbing his eyes as the final notes drew to a close. Blaine was taken aback by the declaration of opinion Kurt made, and actually found his cheeks warming addictively.

“Really?” Blaine felt his voice stick in his throat, and his words came out croaky and breathless.

“One hundred percent.” Kurt said, returning the tissue to his pocket and settling back down, his eyes not leaving the screen. Blaine ducked his head sheepishly, smiling to himself and wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. As the movie continued to play, it became increasingly harder to concentrate on the story line, due to the fact Blaine found himself blushing at every small action Kurt made. His witty remarks especially.

Blaine was struggling to come to terms with his feelings for Kurt, he had accepted the fact he had a crush, but for some reason it felt like more than that. He had experienced crushes before, Neil Patrick Harris being a big one. But there was something about Kurt that was different to that. Perhaps it was the fact that he actually knew Kurt personally and he wasn’t just a singing and dancing figure on his television, that was probably likely. But whenever he was in close proximity to the boy, all he could do was watch him and the way he spoke, or laughed, or moved in the effortlessly handsome way he did. It made Blaine’s heart twirl pleasantly. Whenever Blaine saw Kurt walking by in the hall, his body would stop cooperating with his brain, and all he could do was glance over at him and admire his perfection, as Blaine knew that was as far as he could ever get. He would imagine Kurt’s hands brushing against his own as they walked down the school hallway, everyone's eyes fixed on them.

He dreamt of all of this like a blushing schoolgirl. He wouldn’t even be surprised in himself if he started doodling their names together with a red heart drawn around them. It was silly, and a complete fantasy.

But a crush was nothing more than a lust for someone, that’s what his mother told him. It wasn’t love, it wasn’t soulmates. It was just feelings that would eventually pass. But it just felt so… different now. Every time when Blaine saw him, that was it. He’d be thinking about him for the entire day.

He hadn’t told anyone his feelings. He hadn’t expressed his crush to anyone, not Finn nor Quinn or Santana, God forbid Brittany. He just liked the feeling that it was his own thing, and he didn’t have to share it with anyone. Blaine subconsciously reached his hand over to the popcorn, and was snapped from his thoughts when he felt knuckles brushing up against his own, warm and loving. It all felt very rom-com as Blaine retracted it nervously and looked over at Kurt, who had taken a handful of popcorn out and was smiling at Blaine confidently.

It had happened again. The familiar eye lock where they were just staring at each other, unable to break contact. It was like before when Blaine first saw Kurt in the hallway, or when they had seen each other in the locker rooms, the other night when Blaine dropped Kurt home after the party. But this time, they were so close. Blaine could lean forward and kiss Kurt’s if he wanted to. He couldn’t help himself but allow his eyes to flicker downward to Kurt’s pink lips, looking oh-so-kissable in the evening light. He wanted to kiss them. He really did. But what if Kurt pushed away, or slapped him, or didn’t want that to happen? Blaine knew he would be humiliated. Was that risk worth it? Blaine wanted to try, so the next thing he knew, he found himself leaning in slightly. It was only a fraction of a centimetre closer, but close enough that he could feel Kurt’s breath against his own.

Blaine looked upward slightly, tearing his eyes from his lips to study Kurt’s facial expression, but all too quickly, the lips were gone from his line of sight and replaced by the back of his friend’s head.

The empty disc case of the current movie they were watching was thrust in front of his face, and his friend was smirking down at him.

“Do you want to choose the next movie?” It was then that Blaine realised he had completely missed the ending of Moulin Rouge in favour of pining after Kurt’s plump, peach lips.

“Yeah, uh, sure…” Suspicion felt like it was permeating from him like fumes, but if Kurt noticed his discomfort, he showed little indication of it.

Blaine rifled through the stack of movie discs Kurt had passed him, before finding an impressive stash of Audrey Hepburn movies. He grinned brightly.

“Oh, we don’t have to watch an Audrey Hepburn film if you don’t want to, I know they’re kinda girly.” Kurt reasoned.

Blaine scoffed in protest. “I beg to differ! One of my first guy crushes was Gergory Peck!”

Kurt’s eyes lit up as he giggled, it was truly a heartstopping sight. “Same here! You know, you kinda look like him.” Blaine blushed profusely.

“Really?”

“Yeah, around the eyes.”

Then and there, Blaine was all ready to click ‘play’ on Roman Holiday, but stopped himself short when he spied another movie in the corner of the screen.

“Funny Face?”

The older boy laughed. “Do you even have to ask?”

As the movie progressed, Blaine saw a side to Kurt that he was undoubtedly lucky to witness. He had a shrewd eye for fashion and was quite obviously drooling throughout the entirety of the ‘Think Pink’ scene.

“God, I love it.” he groaned. “Pink is superior to all other col0urs, and I take no objections to that statement.”

Blaine smiled and nodded in agreement, with the image of a flamingo pink bowtie that lay, as of yet, unused in his closet. Blaine made a mental note to wear that specific article of clothing more often.

Another scene that seemed to turn Kurt on just a bit was the photography scene, where Audrey models all of the best outfits.

“It’s like porn.” he joked, moaning just a little. Blaine had to be honest, every time Kurt did that, he felt a little squirming sensation in his groin. He tried to ignore it.

It was the ‘S’Wonderful’ number that really struck a chord with Blaine, however.

The entire time he was imaging he and Kurt, in matching tuxedos, dancing and singing in a bright, sunny field, and at the end, taking a ride on a small platform, along a picturesque river.

Beside him, Kurt murmured the lyrics in his songbird voice, and Blaine parroted them back to him. By the end, they were gazing at each other in the same way they had during the previous movie. But Blaine wasn’t going to try for a kiss this time. For some reason, being emotionally connected to Kurt was more important to him at that moment than kissing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other owner of this account helped me write the end of this chapter where they watch Funny Face, cause she loved Audrey Hepburn ;) (Also she's currently writing a Drarry rewrite of the whole HP series and it's SO good, so make sure to check that out if you haven't already)


	8. A Love Square

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy, hope you're all doing good, this chapter is quite sweet and I kinda like it, we were ROBBED of a Brittany and Kurt friendship in the show, and I thought that they would genuinely make really good friends, so here ya go. Thank you all for your lovely comments, they really do mean the world and make me so happy haha:) Enjoy xoxo

“Are you coming to the fall assembly tomorrow, Kurt?” Quinn asked, taking a bite of her salad delicately. Kurt looked up at the girl, fiddling with his watch. Him, Santana, Quinn and Mercedes were sitting at one of the rectangular tables in the cafeteria, pecking away at their inedible food. To Kurt, describing the school cafeteria and it's food was like describing your favourite shade of graphite pencil. In the end it really didn't matter what you asked for or what you wanted, you'd get the same over-cooked grey offering on it's grey plate with it's grey taste.

“It’s mandatory isn’t it?” Kurt replied to Quinn’s question, leaning across the table to steal one of Santana’s fries. The girl slapped his hand away, shooting him a playfully scornful look.

“Yeah, but some people just skip it all together, it’s usually pretty boring.”

“Just wait until the New Directions get on that stage though, we’re gonna be setting that place on fire.” Mercedes interjected, high fiving Santana.

“Isn’t your choir teacher dancing with you?” Said Kurt incredulously.

“Yeah, it’s weird.” Santana said quickly. Kurt nodded his head, thinking back to the previous night, where Blaine had explained the plan for the assembly the following day. Kurt remembered stuttering in disbelief at the idea of a grown man, well into his thirties, dancing with a bunch of minor’s to a Britney Spears song. Safe to say he was not exactly looking forward to it.

“Hey guys!” Kurt lifted his head at the voice, just in time to see Finn and Blaine taking a seat. Finn sat on the far end, while Blaine took a seat next to Santana and placed his blue tray on the table. “What’s going on?”

“We’re talking about how weird it is that Schuester is dancing with us at the assembly tomorrow.” Replied Mercedes, smirking at Blaine and Finn’s eye roll.

“I know, and to ‘ _Toxic_ ’ of all songs.”

“Exactly!” The whole table chorused in agreement, laughing and shaking their heads. The conversation flowed pleasantly from there. Talk of the fall assembly, school gossip, football training and current events (and since none of them paid any attention to the news, ‘current events’ was actually just code for more school gossip).

“I heard that Missy Gunderson and Rick the Stick broke up.” Quinn said, leaning her chin on her hand and nodding at the disbelief flooding throughout the table.

“Can’t say I’m surprised, I heard he cheated on her.”

“I don’t think they were even dating.”

Kurt looked up from under his eyelashes at the conversation going on around him. It was hard being the new kid. Because everybody already knows each other, they know the gossip and the couples and all the drama. It was just hard on Kurt when the conversation steered from topics he had knowledge in, to gossip about people he hardly knew. It made him feel lost and left out. Kurt didn’t even know who this Missy Gunderson was, nor Rick the Stick. But there wasn't much he could do except suck it up. With time, information would catch up to him, and perhaps he would begin to feel like McKinley really was his school.

“‘Sup _homo_!” Kurt lifted his head suddenly at the gruff voice, to see Karofsky stalking past the groups lunch table, shooting him daggers. Kurt’s face fell, and his body tensed and froze. He dropped his gaze and looked round at the table cautiously, to see his friends looking stunned and angry, specifically Blaine and Santana.

“What the hell, Karofsky?” Santana exclaimed, getting to her feet in a swift and furious motion, followed by Blaine, in an equally as enraged way. Kurt felt himself panic at the way Karofsky clenched his fists and took a threatening step towards the two.

“Guys, don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” Kurt reasoned, desperate for his friends to sit down. He didn’t want to make a scene. Reluctantly, they both sat down, and Kurt caught Santana out of the corner of his eye whispering threats under her breath.

“Kurt, are you okay?” Quinn reached across the table and grabbed his hand in a comforting way. Kurt smiled at the gesture, squeezing her hand in thanks.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Kurt turned to Blaine and Santana. “Thank you guys, but I'm fine.” They nodded in acknowledgement, before Santana returned to her tray, glaring at Karofsky from the corner of her eye. Blaine held his gaze with Kurt a fraction of a second longer, before turning back to his tray too. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, as everyone went back to their grey cafeteria food. Kurt thought for a moment. The only people sat at that table who knew for sure that Kurt was in fact gay were Finn and Blaine, and for now he would like to keep it that way. He liked Quinn, Santana and Mercedes, he considered them his best friends, but he didn't want to tell them yet. And Karofsky wasn't helping with his blatant homophobia. The burly football player didn't even know Kurt was gay, he just assumed it. This enraged him even more.

“Do you wanna go out tomorrow, Kurt?” Kurt lifted his head suddenly, looking over at Brittany approaching the table, twirling her hair round her fingers and smiling giddily at him.

“Like, shopping or something?” Said Kurt carefully. He really didn’t want Brittany to get the wrong idea about them, and it had become obvious she had a crush on him. The problem was, he didn’t want to lead the poor girl on, but as he was just thinking, he wasn’t ready to come out completely at school yet. He was hoping to shoot the ‘ _we’re just friends_ ’ vibe over at the girl.

“I dunno, on a date maybe.” Kurt’s mouth went slack, and a series of events began to unfold around him. Finn choked on his water, Blaine was very obviously biting down a laugh, Santana had stood up and walked off to put her tray away, (clearly wanting to escape the conversation) while Quinn and Mercedes were staring with their mouths open.

“Uh… Britt-” Kurt began, his mouth going dry. “I can’t tonight, I have…” He searched his mind for some sort of excuse. “...plans.” He finished lamely, avoiding the girl’s gaze, and Blaine’s for that matter.

“Okay, Kurtie.” Brittany took her tray and rose to her feet. “Let me know if you ever wanna tap this though.” That was it, Finn let out a loud laugh, while Quinn and Mercedes mouths were open like fly traps. The girl gave him a knowing look and sauntered away, leaving Kurt perplexed and panicked.

“Oh dear God.” He muttered, placing his head in his hands and sighing irritably. Brittany was just so sweet, he really didn’t want to hurt her. Kurt felt the atmosphere tense around him, and it felt for a moment like Mercedes or Quinn were going to say something, so instead, Kurt stood and walked out of the cafeteria before any questions came hurling at him. He didn’t stop to look back at their expressions, he just focused his eyes forward and kept walking.

***

Blaine sat there, stunned, watching Kurt’s slim, retreating form exit with a furrowed brow. After finding out Kurt was gay, Brittany’s flirting didn’t make him as jealous as it had before and he actually found it comical, but Kurt apparently didn’t. The boy had run in distress, seeming scared and confused. Perhaps it wasn’t Brittany who had upset him, perhaps it was what Karofsky said that had freaked him out, which wouldn’t be surprising. It had infuriated him what he said to Kurt, and after hearing about Kurt’s background at his old school made it much worse.

“I’ll go talk to him.” Quinn announced, getting to her feet and brushing off her skirt.

“No, let me.” He reasoned, arising from his chair. Quinn smiled at him and sat back down, Blaine nodded at her. Taking his half-eaten tray and scraping off the food into the trash (he wasn’t that hungry anyway), Blaine left the cafeteria with his bag slung over his shoulder, scanning the halls for any sign of Kurt. He paced up and down, ducking into bathrooms and empty classrooms to try and find the chestnut haired boy, when he eventually saw him, staring into his locker with a dull expression on his face.

“Kurt!” He called, approaching him with a comforting level of purpose. Kurt looked up at Blaine, before dropping his gaze immediately, looking shifty. He didn’t say anything, he just began to aimlessly rifle through his textbooks. “You okay?” Blaine asked carefully, leaning against the lockers and tilting his head to the side so it rested against the thin metal lightly. He pulled one of his signature pouts, giving Kurt his best 'puppy-eyes'. He smiled shyly as Kurt rolled his own eyes at the attempt of cheering him up.

“I’m fine.” Kurt sighed, scanning his eyes over his bare locker door with a furrowed brow. Blaine pulled another pout at the boy’s unconvincing tone, receiving a slap on the shoulder. “Don’t even try it with the pout, Anderson. I’ve grown immune to it by now.”

“Nah, you love it.” Blaine teased back.

“Sure I do.” Kurt slammed his locker closed, leaning up against the metal doors just as Blaine did, so that they mirrored each other. The two boys held their gaze for a second, both arms crossed, gazing into eachothers eyes. It lasted for a few moments, Blaine trying hard not to lose himself, before Kurt broke the contact and looked down at his feet. “I just don’t want to hurt Brittany.” Nodding knowingly, Blaine smiled at Kurt in solace.

“I get it.” Blaine did get it, Brittany had had a small crush on him before, and he had hated shooting her down, but she understood, and quickly moved on to the next guy, who at the time was some transfer student she liked. But it was even harder for Kurt now, because Blaine had become increasingly aware that Santana had a thing for Brittany, and was clearly heartbroken every time the girl expressed her newest crush. And for that crush to be Kurt, a good friend of hers, he was sure it was breaking her. And with the addition of Blaine's massive crush on one Kurt Hummel, it was like a love square.

“What do you think you’re gonna do about it?” He asked aloud to Kurt, who shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know, I just really don’t wanna hurt her.”

“You can’t lead her on, Kurt.” Blaine reasoned.

“I’m not ready to come out yet.” He insisted, a look of terror crossing his eyes.

“You know Britt, ‘Tana and Quinn would be fine with it. They accepted me.” Blaine was going to tell Kurt about how he was sure Santana was gay, but that wasn’t his information to pass on. Turning his attention back to the boy in front of him, Blaine watched Kurt knit his hands together in thought, apparently nervously wracking his brains.

“I’m not going to come out when I’m not ready just to get a girl off my back, there are other ways to do that you know.” Kurt rambled. “I’m just gonna let her down slowly.” He decided with a nod of his head.

“That sounds like a good plan, Kurt.” Blaine reached out and patted his shoulder with a warm smile, Kurt grinned at the gesture, looking nervous. He eventually released Kurt’s arm with reluctance, regaining his posture and clearing his throat.

“Do you wanna go back to the cafeteria?” Blaine broke the quiet, gesturing towards the large double doors. Kurt tightened his satchel and shook his head.

“Nah, I think I’m gonna go to the gym instead. Let off some steam.” Blaine nodded, feeling a sweat begin to form around his collar at the thought of Kurt, sweaty and out of breath at a punching bag. And oh, God was that a good image. Realising that Kurt was still in his presence and he hadn’t ended the conversation quite yet, Blaine panicked and hastily wiped his brain of inappropriate thoughts, clearing his throat thrice and smiling at Kurt.

“Uh… g-good, good. Sounds good… have fun.” Blaine hoped that he hadn’t been too obvious with the fact that he had been thinking those things, but he had a feeling that Kurt had his suspicions, because the boy raised an eyebrow at him and smirked.

“See you around, Blaine.” He said casually, with a slightly suggestive edge to his tone, making Blaine’s breath hitch in his throat and eyes widen. Kurt pushed himself up from the locker door, shooting Blaine a wink, making the raven-haired boy's body freeze and his legs turn to jelly, before Kurt walked off and down the hallway.

Apparently, Blaine’s brain had suddenly decided not to cooperate with his limbs, because his entire body would not move with the sheer adrenaline, his blood ran hot and cold with desire. Blaine was sure his shaking legs would buckle as he replayed the extremely seductive look Kurt had just shot him in his head. Blaine spun round to watch the boy's retreating form, because damn he looked good from behind. The way he swaggered his hips casually was intoxicating, Blaine couldn’t keep his eyes from them. But as Kurt turned the corner and walked to the gym, and Blaine was released from the spell he had apparently been put under, something rather important hit him.

The way he felt for Kurt wasn’t just a ‘cutesy’ crush anymore, it wasn’t just him feeling butterflies in his stomach when Kurt giggled or blushed, it was more. It was _want_. It was _lust_. It was full on bodily desire, and Blaine was sure that he _needed_ Kurt Hummel.

It was weird, he had never really felt that. He had never felt a genuine desire for someone. Perhaps it was silly though, other sixteen-year-old kids his age would have definitely felt that kind of sexual longing way before he had, but apparently knowing Kurt had changed his otherwise prudish view on sex. He had never really thought about it though. After coming out to his parents, Blaine had never had anyone to talk to about that kind of stuff, he felt uncomfortable asking his mother or father, he was actually scared to search the internet for answers. Blaine still wasn’t sure how gay sex worked, he didn’t know the mechanics or what it was really, coming to terms with his sexuality had all been romantic feelings, he had never really thought about it sexually.

It probably sounded silly, Blaine thought. But no matter how stupid or ridiculius it sounded however, Blaine knew it was how he felt, and no one could change that. Well… a certain football player had changed that.

Whenever Kurt licked his lips or looked up at Blaine from under his eyelashes alluringly, Blaine felt an odd ache in his chest. He recalled Kurt describing how watching the fashion sequence in Funny Face was like porn to him, and the moan the boy made in the back of his throat made Blaine have to swallow a whimper. And now he knew what that was. Lust. And he could only admit it now.

Blaine wasn’t scared to admit it to himself anymore, because he knew now. He had come to the realisation right there in the middle of the school hallway, just because the guy he liked was going to workout at the gym and had maybe shot him a purposefully seductive look, but he knew.

Blaine Anderson _wanted_ Kurt Hummel.

***

“Hey, Kurt. Come sit.” Quinn said, shuffling over on the bleachers and patting for Kurt to sit on the empty seat beside her. All clad in armour in their Cheerios uniforms, Santana, Brittany and Quinn were sat cross-legged on the bleachers overlooking the Football stadium in a circle. Kurt had just come back from practice, and was ready for his daily after school chat with the girls. Today was different though, because today he was going to talk to Brittany. Her flirting had begun to spiral out of control, and it was unfair on her and on him to lead the girl on. He had to do this.

Kurt knew that if he did tell the girl’s that he was in fact gay, they wouldn’t mind. As Blaine said, they didn’t care when he came out. But Kurt wasn’t sure he trusted them yet. He had known them for two weeks for God’s sake, and despite the fact they had grown extremely close in such a short space of time, he just wasn’t ready.

“What are you guys up to?” Kurt asked as he slumped down between Quinn and Santana, who immediately began to fiddle with the material on his letterman jacket and the well glued on rhinestones he had patterned over his large jersey number.

“Oh my God, so much! Guess what I heard this morning from Puck… Mackenizie Miller is sleeping with Jack Cohen, even though she’s with Toby Bailey…” Kurt zoned out after that, because honestly he didn’t care about whatever gossip Santana knew. So as the latina cheerleader continued to ramble on, Kurt stared out into the field, making sure to nod and gasp at the right moments to make it seem as though he was interested.

“So, do you wanna hang out tomorrow, Kurt. Since you're busy tonight.” Brittany suddenly chirped up, twiddling her hair round her fingers and straightening her posture, something Kurt never saw happen. He looked at her and sighed in annoyance, closing his eyes and preparing himself for something he’d never done before, shoot a girl down.

“Britt, please don’t take this the wrong way.” The girl’s face fell at his opening, and Kurt immediately felt like retreating from his plan and just letting the course of her crush playout, but he had to do it. “I just- just… don’t want to go out with… you.”

_Oh God… she looked upset._

“What do you mean?” Brittany said, looking down at her lap and fiddling with her nails. Kurt turned to Quinn and Santana for help, but they were to shocked and panicked to cooperate.

“I-uhhh… think I’m gonna-” Santana started, scrambling to her feet and snatching her bag up off the bleacher seat.

“Yeah… go. Let’s, uh... go, Santana.” Quinn stuttered, taking Santana by the arm and dragging her away.

“Wha- guys.” Kurt hissed after the retreating girls. Quinn turned and shot him a grimace over her shoulder, and an apologetic thumbs up. Sighing, he turned back to Brittany and gave her a half smile, cautiously reaching forward and taking the girls hands in his own. She didn’t pull away.

“Britt, you know that I think you’re great but… I just can’t date you.” Kurt winced at his phrase of words, realising how mean he sounded out loud. It seemed like a much better phrase in his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” She asked, playing with her Cheerios skirt, her eyes flicking back and forth, as if she was thinking.

“I’m just- not ready to date yet.” Kurt smiled comfortingly at her, squeezing her hand. Brittany lifted her head and looked at him, nodding her head in thought.

“That’s not true.” She said in almost a whisper. Kurt removed his hands, learning back and his eyes widening.

“Uh… excuse me?” He stuttered.

“Kurt, do you think I’m dumb?” Kurt furrowed his brow, because in honesty, he did think she was dumb.

“Uh… no?” He tried, hoping that she wouldn’t see through him.

“I see the way you look at Blaine.” Brittany stated, smirking at Kurt’s bemused expression.

“Blaine?”

“You look at him like he’s a marshmallow covered in chocolate and sprinkles.” Kurt was confused at what the girl was insinuating.

“Wh- what are you saying?”

“You want him to be your dolphin.” Brittany said, as if it was obvious. Kurt just stared at her, gesturing with his hands for her to elaborate, apparently she didn’t catch on.

“Still not following…” He ended up saying.

“A dolphin is a gay shark.” She smiled. Kurt's head began to hurt, struggling to decipher her language.

“Wha- _oh_.” It dawned on Kurt, and he felt his stomach lurch forward uncomfortably. She had figured out he was gay. He sat for a moment, struggling to comprehend her logic, and actually ended up laughing quietly to himself, because Brittany was definitely the most interestingly weird person he had ever met. “You know what, Britt? You’re smarter than you look.” Brittany began to giggle with him, her eyes shining.

After a moment, Kurt sighed, grabbing the strap of his satchel and getting to his feet. He held out his hand for Brittany to take, and she accepted him, as they walked along the bleachers together, hand in hand. Kurt knew that Brittany didn’t see it as a romantic gesture, it was a new dawn for their friendship. As they continued in a comfortable silence, the breeze blowing their perfectly styled hair sideways, a thought hit Kurt.

“ _Wait_ \- hang on, if you knew I was gay, why did you keep flirting with me?” Brittany leant into his shoulder, shoving him playfully.

“I didn’t actually figure it out until now. The only boy that’s ever shot me down before you was Blaine, and he turned out to be gay, so I sorta figured.” Kurt tilted his head back at the sky and laughed, nudging her back as they walked.

“You're a genius, Britt... you know that?” Kurt looked over at the girl, smiling at her, as she grinned back sweetly at the compliment, shrugging nonchalantly, not saying anything. There was no need to say anything. She rested her head on his shoulder, and the two friends walked in silence for a while. It was calming. Suddenly, Kurt began to giggle as a thought hit him.

“You had a crush on Blaine?” He asked incredulously, surprised that the gel wearing Cheerio was her type.

“Yeah.” She giggled, covering her smile with her free hand. Kurt laughed with her and sighed, because he was happy he had found a way to be her friend. And he was happy that her friendship was something he could count on, despite her weird ways. As the evening sun hit his face over the football posts, Kurt smiled and bathed in it’s orange glow. Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter out asap, love y'all:) (also Blaine's little inner monologue is kinda intense, I got carried away oops)


	9. Toxic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, how are you guys doing? I've had a pretty bad day (not that you need to know) and writing this chapter has sort of been the main source of my happiness today so I've got that going for me. Anyway, hope you enjoy:)

Kurt folded his arms, wrapping his letterman jacket tighter around his body as the large expanse of bored students talked lamely around him, throwing the occasional spit ball at each other to keep things interesting. It was the fall assembly, and Figgins was stepping up to the microphone awkwardly, tapping it and making the feedback screech at the force. Kurt winced. 

“Quiet, please, children. Quiet now.” The chatter died down, mostly out of pure boredom, and listening to the principal speak was as interesting as it seemed the school day was going to get for most of them. “First, students who ate the ravioli today and are not up-to-date on their tetanus shots, should see the nurse immediately.” Kurt grimaced, knowing that he had systematically avoided the ravioli earlier that day at lunch, due to Santana’s personal horror story regarding the dish. He remembered scowling at the grey mush and choosing to move along. “Welcome to our homecoming pep assembly. Because of last week’s grisly train derailment, the dulcimer club is on hiatus until further notice. But do we have a treat for you. Fresh off their last place finish at the Regionals, please give it up for the New Directions.” 

“Hi, Kurt. How are you?” Kurt looked up to see Miss Pilsbury, the guidance counselor, walking towards him. He had met with Miss Pilsbury a few times when he had been being given a tour of the school just before he started, and she had been checking up on his progress since he had started about a week ago. 

“I’m doing good, what about you?” Kurt said politely, as the woman took a seat next to him, and the lights dimmed. 

“I’m okay.” Kurt noticed her hesitate a bit, but didn’t think too much into it, as scattered applause from the crowd interrupted his thought process. ‘ _ Toxic _ ’ began to play.

_ Baby, can't you see?  _

_ I'm calling _

_ A guy like you should wear a warning _

_ It's dangerous _

_ I'm falling... _

Kurt felt a smile begin to quirk up on his lips, as he watched Brittany begin to sing and dance. He hadn’t actually heard her sing properly until now, and he liked her voice. She was talented for sure. As the song continued to play, Kurt sought through the performers on stage, smiling at Quinn and Santana as they made eye contact with him, grimacing distastefully. That was when he saw Blaine, dancing seductively and thrusting his hips, moving across the stage with ease.

Blaine must have caught on to Kurt watching, because the boy met his gaze and smirked at him, shooting him an over the top wink. Kurt covered his mouth with his hands as he laughed, shaking his head at his goofball of a friend. 

“I love Britney Spears!” Kurt heard Jacob Ben Israel say from behind him. That’s when Mr Schuester came onto the stage, and Kurt scrunched his face up. It made him feel extremely uncomfortable as he watched the teacher dance with the students. 

_ Too high _

_ Can't come down _

_ Losin' my head _

_ Spinnin' 'round and 'round _

_ Do you feel me now? _

Kurt tried desperately to ignore Schuester, and instead enjoyed the dancing and singing of his friends, who he knew were genuinely excited about the performance. 

“Mr Schue let me be your Britney!” Kurt looked round to Lauren Zizes, who was freaking out over the performance with Jacob. Kurt scoffed. Because there was absolutely nothing going on onstage that was turning him on. Except maybe Blaine in those tight pants that left very little to the imagination. 

But as Schue suddenly cut into his thoughts with an awkward body roll on stage, Kurt tightened in his seat and looked over to Miss Pilsbury next to him. They shared a look of disgust. And as the crowd around them got to their feet and began to dance, him and Miss Pilsbury stayed seated, rigid. Kurt felt uncomfortable. 

***

Over on the stage, Blaine was positive that the performance was having the desired effect. The sex riot was tearing up the gym and everyone was screaming their praises. Though Kurt seemed to be a little more subdued, he chose to believe that the boy was internally lusting after Blaine and his  _ sexy _ Britney Spears moves. 

His recent discovery of Kurt Hummel’s pure and utter sex appeal had got him thinking. He had been lying in bed the previous night, procrastinating about the Britney Spears performance he and the Glee club would be doing the next day, when an idea came to him. Blaine wanted Kurt to find  _ him _ just as sexy as he found Kurt. So when he came into the choir room the next morning to prepare, he had a whole new attitude for the fall assembly. Because he was pulling out all the stops. He even threw Kurt a wink at the beginning of the performance, just as the crowd were getting into it.

Caught up in the moment, he swivelled his hips and blew a kiss in Kurt’s direction. 

_ That was sure to tip him over the edge _ , he thought. 

Suddenly, as the song came to a close, the fire alarm rang out, and the screaming crowd of horny teenagers filed out in a distressed and excited manner. 

“It’s a Britney Spears sex riot!” He heard Puck scream in his ear, laughing hysterically and running to join the crowd, arms in the air. Blaine smirked to himself and put his hands on his hips, happy that his attempt of showing Kurt  _ his  _ sex appeal had been a success. So just to make sure that he had impressed the specific individual he had wanted to, Blaine shoved his way through the swarm of students desperately, trying to get to Kurt’s seat. Eventually, he saw him, the boy had chosen to stay sat down in favour of joining the riot, and was playing with the material on his letterman jacket. Blaine’s eyes shone.

“Kurt!” He said, and the boy looked up, half-smiling at him.

“Uh… Hey, Blaine.” Kurt said awkwardly, getting to his feet and waving goodbye to Miss Pilsbury, who was now on crowd control, uselessly trying to get the people into a single file line. “You ok?”

“I’m good.” He shouted over the noise, pivoting round to survey the riot going on behind them. Rolling his eyes and fixing his attention back on Kurt, he knitted his hands together nervously. “What did you think?” Blaine felt his cheeks flush hot red, trying desperately to not let it show how anxious he truly was for Kurt’s answer. 

“Can I be really honest with you? Because it comes from a place of caring?” Blaine felt his stomach plummet, and regretfully nodded to gesture for him to continue. “Kinda… pervy.” At first, Blaine was thoroughly disappointed by Kurt’s answer. He had wanted to show Kurt his sex appeal, and all he had done was creep him out.

_ Way to go Anderson,  _ he thought. 

But then he realised it wasn’t  _ his  _ performance that had made him feel uncomfortable. It was Schue. 

“Oh… Yeah, I kinda hate how Mr Schue performed with us.” Kurt nodded, laughing slightly. “B-But what did you think of… me?” Blaine grimaced at how desperate he sounded, and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, pushing past it in favour of wanting to hear Kurt’s answer. 

“Oh! Yeah, you were great!” Blaine smiled proudly, relaxing slightly and bouncing on the ball’s of his feet. “Your performance was absolutely hilarious!” 

_ Hilarious?  _ He stopped bouncing. _ Kurt had found him… funny? _

No, no, no. That was not what he wanted. He  _ wanted _ to show Kurt his sex appeal. To show him what he could do. But instead of that, Kurt had found him…  _ hilarious? _

“You… you what?”

“Yeah! I mean you were blowing kisses and your dancing!” Kurt was properly laughing now. Under normal circumstances, he would have found Kurt’s rosy cheeks and giggles adorable, but now they just made him feel disappointed. “You’re quite the performer Blaine.” Blaine was speechless, stock still with his mouth agape, nodding numbly. He tried to articulate a sentence, but his brain was too busy thinking of what he did wrong. “See you around.” Kurt finished, patting Blaine on the shoulder and walking off, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his letterman jacket and stutting towards the exit. Now the sex riot had died down, Kurt’s departure had just left Blaine stood lamely in the centre of the gym, dumbstruck.

Blaine had imagined Kurt’s reaction being very different. You know, Kurt would’ve said something about how Blaine was  _ so _ sexy, and be overcome with lust that he would reach forward and kiss him senseless. But no, Kurt had to find him…  _ hilarious.  _

“Hey.” Blaine felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, and looked round to see Santana stood there, with a soft look on her face. A rare sight. “That looked rough.” She gestured towards the door Kurt had just exited through. 

Blaine had explained to Santana earlier that day about his idea. That he would seduce Kurt during the Britney number, and make the boy fall for him. Santana had supported the idea. She had told him that it was sure to work. They even rehearsed some of the dance moves he would do, and Santana would either give him a thumbs up or thumbs down to whether they would or would not work on Kurt.

_ “No, that looks awkward Blaine. Kurt will hate that.”  _ She had said to him when he showed her the body roll he had been practicing. She was the one who had told him to throw Kurt a wink. In return, he had given  _ her  _ tips on new ways to subtly hint to Brittany her feelings. 

“Yeah, it was.” Blaine snapped, as if it was obvious. Santana didn’t back off, she just rubbed the small of his back in circular motions, murmuring words of comfort. “Sorry. It’s just… there was a sex riot for God’s sake! How is it that the guy I’m crushing on is the only person who didn’t even feel a twinkle of arousal.” Santana nodded, smirking. 

“Okay, first of all, the words ‘ _ twinkle’  _ and ‘ _ arousal’  _ should not be used in the same sentence.” Blaine rolled his eyes. “And second of all, maybe Kurt just doesn’t see you that way.” 

“ _ Ouch, _ Santana…  _ ouch.” _ Blaine shrugged her off, collapsing onto the edge of the stage in despair, plummeting his face into his hands and rubbing his temple. The reality of the situation hit him, and as Santana sat beside him, he subsided into her shoulder. “Urgh, I wanna go home.” He groaned into the material of her clothes like a five-year-old. 

“Ew, gross. I don’t wanna get your snot on my outfit.” She tried to push him off, which only made Blaine hold her tighter, giving her his best pout, which he had recently discovered didn’t work on Kurt. “Maybe just this once.” 

“Why is love so hard?” He complained, settling into her shoulder, as she wrapped both her arms around him, rocking him like a child. 

“Because the world is cruel.” Santana stated, making her way up to stroking his hair, which had been slightly freed from the gel due to sweat, so small curls escaped out the sides. Blaine exhaled in frustration, looking up at the ceiling to try and stop any tears from spilling. 

“I just want him to see me the way I see him.” He said desperately, Santana squeezing his shoulder in acknowledgement. It was weird, Santana being so nice to him. The two were very close friends, but usually she would at least have a snappy remark, or she would tell him to get over it. But before he could dwell on it any longer, he remembered something. She was heartbroken too. He was comforting her just as much as she was comforting him. 

Brittany still didn’t think she and Santana were any more than friends. Although Blaine had it on good authority that they slept together quite often. He had expressed to Santana that he didn’t think having sex so often with Brittany did any good for her romantic feelings, because it only hurt her more when Britt saw other people, but the girl brushed it off. 

“And I want Britt to finally realise that she’s in love with you.” Blaine added, feeling it only fair to acknowledge Santana’s feelings too. She scoffed and shook her head. 

“Britt’s not in love with me.” Blaine wanted to protest, but stayed quiet. Basking in the comfortableness of their friendship. After a moment, Santana laughed, as apparently a thought had occurred to her. “You know, if I were a gay male I would totally date you.” Blaine barked out a laugh, his shoulders shaking as he giggled. 

“And if I were a hot lesbian I would date you too, ‘Tana.”

“You’d never be hot enough to date me, Anderson.”

“Try me, Lopez.” 

***

When Kurt arrived home that evening, he was greeted with the sight of his father sitting at one of the bar stools, wearing a stern look on his face. There was a plate of chocolate chip cookies by the seat opposite him, and a glass of milk. Kurt felt a scary deja vu as he walked in. His father had done the same thing when he broke the news to Kurt that he had accidently used a very expensive piece of fabric that Kurt was using for a design to mop up a wine spillage. Kurt had been furious, but he remembered the store bought cookies and milk had definitely eased the blow. 

“Oh no, I know that look.” Regretfully, Kurt took a seat on the bar stool opposite his father, still looking stern, and carefully began to munch on the snacks. “What did you do this time? Accidentally set fire to my playbills? Broke my replica of Audrey Hepburn’s iconic cigarette? Please tell me my car’s okay!” Kurt overdramatically pretended to gasp, laughing as he received a slap on the arm from his father. 

“It’s none of those things, now calm down.” Kurt giggled, dunking one of his cookies into his milk and taking a bite. “Now, I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while, and now you’re settled into your new school, I thought it would be a good time to tell you.”

“Okay, you’re scaring me, what’s going on?” Burt sighed, apparently preparing himself for what he was about to say.

“I’m seeing someone.” Kurt stopped chewing, and raised his gaze to look at his Dad properly. Putting his half eaten cookie down, he made sure to be giving his father his full, undivided attention .

“Really? That’s great.” Kurt smiled at the way Burt’s face lit up at Kurt’s reaction, and his shoulders relaxed. “Who is it?”

“You know your friend Finn Hudson, he’s on the football team with you.” Kurt nodded, turning back to his plate. “It’s his mother.” The shock that ran through Kurt was so sudden that he choked on the piece of cookie he was eating. “You ok, buddy?” Burt asked, patting Kurt on the back to clear his throat. 

“Y-yeah I’m g-good.” Kurt choked out, clearing his throat. “Wh- what’s her name?”

“Carole.” Kurt nodded. 

“Do I get to meet her?”

“Yeah, we’re going out to dinner tomorrow night with her and Finn.” Kurt nibbled around the edge of the cookie, thinking. It wasn’t the fact that his father was dating that bothered him, it didn’t even bother him that his and Finn’s lives would become far more intertwined, he was just shocked. 

“So… how long have you guys been…”

“Since March.” Burt finished for him, Kurt was taken aback. 

“Oh… wow, a while.”

“Yeah, we just wanted to make sure it was…” He sought for a word. “... Real before we told anyone.” Kurt felt his eyebrows shoot up toward his forehead. 

“So, it is real then?”

“Yeah, it is.” Kurt smiled at him, and looked down at the remaining cookies on his plate. He sighed and picked up the plate, sliding off the stool. 

“I’m gonna take these down to my room, I’ve got homework to do.” Kurt said, heading towards the door to head down to the basement. 

“Ok, kid.” Kurt was about to exit, when he stopped and turned back to his dad, searching for words. 

“Hey, Dad?” Burt looked up in acknowledgement. “I’m really happy for you, you know that right?” He smiled.

“Thanks son.” Kurt nodded, before turning from the room and heading down to his basement. As he lay in bed that night, the only thoughts running through his head were of his father. He was so happy for him, but doubt crept in. His mother had died nine years ago, and hearing about his father’s new girlfriend didn’t bother him too much. It was nice to know that he truly  _ had  _ moved on from that, and as much as he missed her, he could be happy for his father without any negative feelings towards the woman -  _ Carole _ \- who he had yet to meet. Excitement bubbled inside Kurt’s chest and the prospect of meeting his father’s girlfriend. The fact that it was Finn’s mother did bother him slightly, as Kurt was yet to decide his feelings towards the tall boy yet, but he was sure that after getting to know him he would feel differently. 

Eventually, once Kurt had calmed his mind of any buzzing thoughts, he let the handle of sleep drag him into a blanket of oblivion. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing a bit of Burt and Carole in the next chapter, cause let's be real, they were the best couple on Glee


	10. I Want To Hold Your Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the other owner of this account for writing the majority of this chapter, she's so talented!

Meeting the Hudson family for the first time had been a pleasant experience for Kurt. They had all gone to Breadstix, his Dad, Carole and Finn, and were officially introduced. Kurt had politely shaken Carole’s hand and complimented her outfit, and nodded in Finn’s direction in greeting. At first, the four small talked about Football and the weather, while Finn sat blowing bubbles in his drink and avoiding the discussion completely, when the conversation eventually shifted to other topics. Such as the prospect of their lives becoming more intertwined, to which Finn mumbled some sort of pathetic argument back, receiving an eye roll from Kurt at his reluctance. 

Eventually however, Burt won him over with talk of Football and scholarships and ideas of his future. Kurt was happy that his Dad was putting in the effort to get to know Finn, but he couldn’t deny that it stung a little bit as he watched his father bond and talk so easily with a child that wasn’t his own.

_ Kurt played Football, _ why didn’t Burt get as invested in conversations with him like that? Was it because he was the kicker? Because he was more femenine? Because he had other interests, and Football wasn’t _his_ whole life? Kurt didn’t know, but he tried not to ponder it, he was just happy that he liked Carole enough to perhaps accept her as his step-mom. 

After saying their goodbye’s, Burt and Kurt headed back to their car and drove back home, talking animatedly about the dinner, school and what was going on down at the tyre shop, both so high on excited energy that any conversation topic seemed like the most thrilling thing in the world.

“I’m glad you like her, Kurt.” Burt said, as they pulled up to the house and hopped out of the car.

“I do like her, Dad. And I’m glad you and Finn were getting on.” Kurt said, trying to hide the inevitable spite in his voice as he mentioned the last part. But apparently his father hadn’t noticed, because the man headed inside and stalked up to his room without another word. 

Kurt exhaled, watching his Dad retreat, because as he did, it hit Kurt rather suddenly. Like a powerful yet soft blade. His life was going to change, a lot. It would no longer be him and Dad, hanging out over Friday Night Dinner and Kurt desperately trying to force his father to watch Audrey Hepburn movies with him. 

During dinner at Breadstix, Kurt noticed his father staring at Carole the way he vaguely remembered him staring at his Mom, with complete and absolute love. And no one, not even the greatest actors and actresses in the world, could look at someone the way his dad looked at Carole and _not_ be serious about the relationship. Perhaps they would move in together? Perhaps they would get married? Kurt didn’t know, but whatever happened, he would be there by his Father’s side as his biggest supporter. 

_ Whatever happened... _

***

Kurt’s world felt like it was closing in around him. 

He was in French class.  _ French class _ . Blissfully unaware of his father being rushed to the hospital as he insulted Azimio in a language the bully didn’t understand. Looking back, he cursed himself for such petty childishness. For not texting his dad to check if he was okay. For not telling him he loved him when saying goodbye that morning. For saying that he wouldn’t go to that damned dinner. He may never get the opportunity now. Not with his father in such a precarious position between living or dying. As if he may fall either side of the spectrum, and he didn’t have any control over which.

On Tuesday morning, he almost didn’t go to school.

He was staying at the Hudson’s, on the mattress in Finn’s room, and he was grateful. He didn’t know either one of the family that well, but they cared for him. Finn the most surprisingly. But as he drowned out the noise of Finn’s blaring alarm clock, he stared at the ceiling, trying to find a reason to get himself up.

_ Football practice?  _ No. He didn’t need to be there. Coach reminded him constantly that he was in perfect form, and she would understand why he wasn’t in. She wouldn’t yell at him.

_ His friends? _ He’d known them for a few weeks - they were hardly worth getting out of bed for. And they, too, would understand.

_ Dad? _ Yes. Dad he’d have to wake up for. For dad, he had to power through. The last thing he’d want is for his son to skip school for him. And after, Kurt could spend the entire evening by his side. 

***

Blaine heard about Kurt’s dad from Finn, who had looked tired all morning. 

During yesterday’s meeting, the football player had professed his undying love for Jesus, who had apparently appeared to him in the form of a Grilled Cheese - it was rather strange. But it inspired an interesting conversation about spirituality, and that became the week’s theme.

Blaine himself had never been particularly interested in God, but he supposed that was more because he had never really thought about it. When in a conversation with someone with strong religious views, he tended to agree with everything they were saying, unless it was morally offensive, and promptly forgot about it once the conversation was over. So, he contented himself with watching the club argue their hearts out, as they did every week, and pitch in only minimally.

But after hearing the news about Kurt’s dad, he had to speak up.

It became clear that the entire group, Jewish or Christian, as they seemed to be the only two denominations Glee club had representation for, wanted to support their friend. So it was decided, they would perform a group number in his honor, and invite him to see.

It was also decided that, going with their theme of spirituality, the song would be about God, and looking to Him. Blaine hadn’t seen anything wrong with that.

***

Kurt didn’t speak to anyone on Tuesday, or at least tried not to. He ate lunch on the bleachers alone, and sat in the back of the class whenever he could. When one of his friends tried to talk to him, he would generally leave them with a gracious ‘thank you’ for their concern, but an overly implied message of ‘leave me alone’. 

Blaine, however, didn’t seem to get the idea, and cornered Kurt after History to ask if he could come to the auditorium after school for about ten minutes before seeing his dad. He didn’t know what Blaine wanted. But what he  _ did _ know of Blaine, he liked, so agreed to go.

When he arrived, it wasn’t only Blaine waiting, it was all of them. The whole club, and Mr Schuester, sitting in one of the middle rows with a sympathetic smile on his face. He invited Kurt to sit next to him and turned his attention to the congregation, who Kurt now noticed were all wearing matching white costumes. 

_ Dear Lord,  _ he thought,  _ are they gonna sing a song? _

Mercedes stepped forward a few steps and spoke to him directly.

“Kurt,” she started. “We know how hard it’s been for you recently, and we wanted to do something to show that we’re here for you. Our theme this week in Glee club is ‘spirituality’, so this song-”  _ Oh no. _ “-is about turning to God in hard times. We hope you enjoy it.” 

Somewhere, the backing track to a song began to play and the New Directions swayed and hummed in time to it, then Mercedes began to sing.

_ As I lay me down _

_ Heaven, hear me now _

_ I'm lost without a cause _

_ After giving it my all... _

It was truly a beautiful song, and Mercedes had an incredible voice, but the message made Kurt feel cold and distant. As though the song was far more for them than it was for him. They hadn’t even bothered to check if he wanted a song, or if he wanted God to have anything to do with it at all, which he didn’t. It honestly made him feel less connected to his new friends, and he didn’t like that part at all.

He looked at Mr Schuester, who was bobbing his head and rubbing his jaw with a meaningful look on his face, then to Blaine, who was watching him warily as he  _ oohed _ and  _ ahhed _ in all the right places. Kurt smiled at him, somewhat bitterly, but Blaine didn’t seem to notice, because he gave him a sympathetic grin back.

Once the song ended, with Mercedes hitting an earth-shattering note, he plastered on a very weak and very fake smile and clapped civilly. 

“Thank you.” he said. “That was very good, and Mercedes you have a wonderful voice. But I don’t believe in God.” Some of the club exchanged outraged looks.

“What?” Tina exclaimed incredulously, which Kurt found odd. He had never really spoken to Tina. 

“You professed your beliefs, I’m just stating mine. I think God is kind of like Santa Claus for adults.” He was getting too heated, he should stop. But the slight irritation he had felt at the song assumptions and song choices of the Glee club fueled him and rushed blood to his cheeks. “Otherwise, God’s kind of a jerk, isn’t he? I mean, he brings down disease and famine and poverty to some, but riches and good health to others? And he creates the idea of race, but also creates the idea of racism? I just don’t get it. And right now I don’t want a heavenly father, I want my real one back.” 

Mercedes looked like someone had just slapped her. “But, Kurt, how do you know for sure? I mean, you can’t prove that there’s no God.”

“You can’t  _ prove _ that there is.” He really needed to stop now. Quinn wasn’t even making eye contact with him. “You also can’t prove that there isn’t a magic teapot floating around the dark side of the moon with a dwarf inside of it that reads romance novels and roods lighting out of its boobs, but it seems pretty unlikely doesn’t it?”

He saw Brittany whisper something to Santana, but it was too quiet for him to hear.

“We shouldn’t be talking like this.” Quinn spat, voice icy. “It’s not right.”

That was it for Kurt. He got up and slung his bag over one shoulder. “I’m sorry, Quinn. You can all believe whatever you want to. But you can’t force me to. But it isn’t even the religious part of the song that annoyed me, it’s the presumption that you think I would want it. I’m sorry, and I can tell that you all worked really hard on it, and it was truly fantastic. But my father might not live. I don’t want a  _ song _ .  I just want my dad back.” He surveyed the room quickly. Nobody looked happy. “Thank you for your time, and thank you for caring, I hope you know that I do truly appreciate your thoughts, but I don’t want your prayers.” 

With that, he walked from the room, only just noticing that he was on the verge of tears. 

***

When Kurt departed the auditorium, there was a general feeling of distaste and annoyance in his direction.

“I can’t believe him.” said Tina. “We did all of that for him and he didn’t even care.”

“What he was saying about God... “ said Quinn. “It was just so awful.” 

Blaine rushed to Kurt’s defense. “Guys, come on, Kurt's going through a really tough time right now. He might lose his father at any moment, cut him some slack.”

Tina and Quinn gave him twin looks of begrudging agreement, but said nothing. 

“I’ll go after him, see if he’s okay.” 

Blaine jogged lightly out of the room and set about locating Kurt, who he found checking his reflection in the mirror in his locker.

“Hey.” Blaine said, in greeting. Kurt’s smile was flat and didn’t reach his eyes, he was feeling awkward and upset, he deduced.

“Hey.” he replied, shutting his locker door. “Sorry I got so heated in there.”

Blaine grimaced. “It’s okay, you’re going through a tough time right now, they all know you didn’t mean it.” This was where Blaine could feel Kurt’s defenses rolling up.

“I did mean it, Blaine. Every word, I’m just sorry I got so angry about it.” He sounded cold and angry. Blaine had only ever seen him like this with Karofsky. He hated it, but also felt defensive of his Glee club. 

“You know, we were only trying to be nice to you. We were trying to support you and make you feel welcome, like we would any other friend of ours.”

Kurt seethed. “Blaine, we’ve known each other for a few weeks, do you really think I want you to sing me a song? To serenade me?”

“You could at least act grateful, we put a lot of effort into that.”

“Exactly! That’s my problem!” Kurt gestured with his hands severely. “This wasn’t about me, or my dad! This was about your ‘theme’ this week! You were just using me as an excuse to perform. And you probably had the ulterior motive of wanting me to join the club! Was that not it? Am I not right in saying that? You don’t  _ care _ about my dad, none of you do. At least, I don’t think so, not after this. You are all selfish. Have you not noticed that I haven’t been hanging out with you guys this week? That I haven’t wanted your pity? Because I don’t. Leave me alone. Butt. Out.”

Blaine was left speechless and gaping as he gazed at Kurt’s retreat. He didn’t quite know how to react. Truthfully, he had never met a person who believed in nothing at all. Living in Lima could do that to a person, he didn’t meet a wide range. He had also never really been close friends with a person who didn’t want to be serenaded when in a crisis, the concept seemed very foreign to him.

Still, he was prepared to learn everything he could about Kurt Hummel. The good. The bad. And the ugly.

***

Kurt ranted to Burt, who still lay unconscious in his hospital bed, about his evening for a solid twenty minutes before settling in with a sports magazine, which he read aloud to him. 

The next day, he continued much as he had before, in stony and impenetrable solitude. Well, that was a bit dramatic, he did talk to Finn, who seemed to be fairly impartial about the whole matter, which was refreshing.

“I just hope you’re okay, man. I know this is really hard for you.” People said that specific phrase a lot.  _ ‘This must be really hard for you’. _ As though they’d made some miraculous revelation. He didn’t mind it. He just didn’t understand why people thought it would help.

A strange occurrence in his day was when he was called into Sue Sylvester’s office. For a talk. 

She checked in on his father first, which was nice. People always asked about  _ him _ first, but never about Burt. She then made some throwaway, crazy-Sue comment about a gymnast she hated, and proposed an idea. She wanted to take down Will Schuester, evidently. 

“I’m not in the Glee Club, Coach Sue. It doesn’t matter to me whether he’s teaching spirituality or not.”

“I know, Lady.” she cooed.

“Don’t love that nickname.” he quipped back. 

“Well, what would you prefer to be called?” 

“Kurt. Maybe.” 

She shook her head. “Well that’s not going to happen.” She sat in thought for a moment. “I’ll allow you to choose from the following nicknames - Gelfling, Porcelain and Tickle-Me-Doughface.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow at the woman, staying silent, making it clear he wasn’t answering her question.

“Fine… Porcelain it is.” She concluded, turning back to him. “So what’s it going to be,  _ Porcelain _ ? Do you want to put the spirituality lesson to a stop?”

In the end, he didn’t do anything. Because he didn’t care what the Glee club did or didn’t do, because he wasn’t in it. One thing he did do however, was talk to Blaine.

He caught up with him in the hallways. 

“Hey, Blaine.” He touched his shoulder. The boy gave him a small smile, ever the happy sunshine child, and nodded.

“Hey. How are you doing?”

“I’m… okay. Same as I was last night, just less irritated, I guess.” 

“That’s good.”   


“I wanted to tell you about a conversation I had with Sue today.”

“Sue?” He piled more books into his locker.

“She called me into her office to try and persuade me to ask you guys to stop singing about spirituality.”

Blaine looked momentarily alarmed. “Did you?”

“...No.” It came out as more of a question rather than a statement. “Seeing as I’m not actually in the Glee Club, I didn’t think it was appropriate, but I want you to know that I don’t think it’s a good idea. And maybe you should stop Schue from doing it? It’s just, Sue’ll go after him if he goes forward with it.”

Blaine nodded thoughtfully. “Thanks, Kurt. It was really nice of you not to say anything, you have a total right to, I see that better now.”

“I’m sorry I got so angry with you.” Blaine smiled at the apology, and held out his hand for Kurt to shake. He accepted. There was slight tension for a moment as they shook hands, and Kurt definitely didn't like it. It reminded him of the first time he had met Blaine, awkward and stilted. So Kurt decided to do what he did last time, make a witty joke about nothing in particular to ease the tightness of the air. It worked, Blaine laughed hard, and the two set off along the hallway, falling back into their easy comfortableness that their friendship held. 

As they meandered, Kurt vaguely heard Blaine begin to say something, but he was too distracted by a little seed of information being planted in his brain, as the notes to a particular ‘Beatles’ song swam round his head, and an idea came to him. 

“...I mean, I always find that singing helps me with my problems, and it’s the same for everyone else in Glee. I guess I just didn’t understand why you didn’t  _ want _ us to sing to you.” Rambled Blaine, Kurt half-listening. “But now I get it, kinda. We were doing it because  _ we _ wanted to feel better about the situation, not because we thought it would help you, even if that’s what we said to ourselves.” He finished, seemingly proud of his hypothesis. Blaine turned to Kurt, awaiting an answer, but the boy said nothing in return, deep in thought. 

Kurt hadn’t really been singing this week, one reason being that he was staying with the Hudsons and would henceforth be too embarrassed to try, but also because he just didn’t feel upbeat or happy enough. Perhaps his lack of singing was causing him to feel even deeper the pain he already felt. 

It couldn’t hurt to try, right?

“Any chance I could come in to sing a song?” Kurt asked, interrupting Blaine’s nonsensical ranting.

He looked momentarily stunned but shook himself quickly. “Sure…sure, yeah, of course!” He beamed. “This is so exciting, Kurt, I’ll go talk to Mr Schue now.”

Kurt had never sung in front of other people before, other than his mom and dad, and Blaine once, but his raven-haired friend had insisted before that the Glee Club was a welcoming environment. In his head, he already knew what song he would sing.

***

Blaine was unable to keep still as he waited for Kurt to take the stage. Mr Schue had introduced him warmly before the trembling boy walked to the centre of the choir room. He looked nervous, Blaine had never seen him like this. 

“I want to say thank you, first, for your kind words and questions you’ve asked me about my dad, but for your information, his condition remains the same. I also wanted to thank you all for the number you performed for me. It was truly stunning and I’m sorry I didn’t take the opportunity to tell you that at the time. And I’m also sorry if any of you are offended by my religious beliefs, but they are unchanged. Still, I prepared a number for you guys today, because I have always found that singing brings me comfort more than any God could. I suppose I’m sharing  _ my _ faith with you guys in exchange for you sharing yours.” He cleared his throat quietly and stepped forward with renewed vigour. “I don’t like sharing my feelings very much. Especially not to a crowd of people I don’t know well enough yet, and I’m sorry. In another world, maybe, I would tell you the meaning behind my song choice but, for now, I hope you’ll be happy if I just… sing it. This is for my dad.”

With that, the band began to play, and Kurt opened his mouth to sing.

_ Oh, yeah, I'll tell you somethin' _

_ I think you'll understand  _

_ When I'll say that somethin'  _

_ I wanna hold your hand  _

_ I wanna hold your hand _

_ I wanna hold your hand... _

His song was moving, and heartfelt, and it gave him a depth Blaine didn’t know he was capable of. After the first verse, he seemed to disappear into memories. It was like he wasn’t in the choir room anymore, more like he was in another time, another place, maybe. Blaine longed to know what he was thinking, but appreciated the tragic drama of never quite knowing, of leaving the memory untouched and clean from his grubby fingers. He had always seen memories like that, like panes of glass or mirror. If you trust someone enough, you can let someone hold one, just hoping that they won’t drop it on the floor or make the image blurry. Blaine guessed that whatever Kurt was thinking about, was far too fragile for anyone in the room to hold just yet. Maybe Finn, someday, maybe even himself, if he ever got Kurt to trust him enough. But really, it was probably only for three people. Kurt, his dad, and his mom, too. 

Among the group of misfits, a dry eye couldn’t be found. Not even Santana, who Blaine generally knew to be too stoic for matters such as crying at a song. But nobody joined in with meaningful background harmonies or inane humming, and Blaine was glad of it. The song, and Kurt, for that matter, needed no bells or whistles. It was perfect on its own.

At the crescendo, Blaine’s heart ached. Kurt looked almost frightened. The line was  _ “I can’t hide” _ , but it was clear he would if he could. Blaine couldn’t imagine what Kurt was going through, or how brave he was for standing up, in front of a group of strangers, singing his heart out. It was truly inspiring.

Nobody clapped at the end. Not because they didn’t think it was worth it, probably more because a clap was unnecessary. Anyone with ears knew that was the best performance the club had seen since Mercedes belted out ‘ _ And I am Telling You _ ’ in ballad week. Kurt clearly didn’t want to be hugged, but oh, boy, did he look like he needed one.

***

“...I don’t believe in God, dad. But I believe in you. And I believe in us. You and me. That’s what’s sacred to me. And I’m… I’m so sorry I never got to tell you that.” Kurt let the tears flow. For the first time since the hospital, he let the damn break. It was refreshing. In his thoughts, he almost hadn’t noticed a small pressure against his index finger, which rested on Burt’s hand. “Dad?” he whispered. The realisation hit him: His dad’s finger moved, it pushed his. He would be okay, he  _ would _ . Immediately, he heard the voice of Burt in the back of his brain. 

_ Nobody pushes the Hummels around. _ Not even a heart attack, apparently.

“Nurse Nancy?” he called. “It’s okay, Dad… I’m right here.” Kurt began to cry harder. “I’m right here.” He sobbed, taking a shuddering breath in, smiling through his strangled cries. “I’m here…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be ready for the next chapter... 'Duets'!


	11. Duets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realised how much chapter length varies in this story, like this chapter is sooo long while others are so short. I don't know, I'm inconsistent. Let me know what you think of this chapter, I apologise because the quality of my writing does vary quite a bit, I wrote the last bit of this in the middle of the night so sorry if it's not great!

“Alright, question for the group!” Mr Schue announced, as he began to scrawl four letters in scrawly handwriting on the board. “What’s a duet?”

“A blanket.” Brittany whispered from the back of the room. Blaine bit back a laugh.

“A duet is when two voices join to become one. Great duets are like a great marriage. The singers compliment each other, push each other to be better. Now, some people…” Blaine intentionally drowned out the rest of what Mr Schue was saying, he knew what a duet was and definitely didn’t need to have it explained to him like a child. Out of the corner of his eye, Blaine looked over at the newest member of the Glee club, Sam Evans, who was sitting on the edge of his seat, wide eyed and interested. He looked so thrilled to be there, and Blaine couldn’t help but wonder what Sam would be like in a few weeks, once he had endured a few slushie facials and swirlies. 

“...And that is what duets are all about. So, this week I want you to pair up and sing a duet.” Blaine bounced in his seat slightly and looked round at the room of people surrounding him, wondering who he would sing with. Perhaps Santana, they had proven musical chemistry. Or maybe Rachel, but she would probably go with Finn. He was tempted even to sing with Quinn, he loved her lilting alto. “And I’ve decided that this week, I’m making this a competition.” 

“What does the winner get?”

“Dinner for two, on me…” Schue paused for dramatic tension. “... At Breadstix!” The room erupted into chatter, all gasping and talking between each other with equal levels of excitement. Blaine looked at them all, smiling at the thrill they got from the simplest things. Honestly, Blaine thought that Breadstix’s food was far below average, but he still appreciated the gesture. 

“Ok! Pair up in your own time!” Everyone jumped to their feet and began to exit the room. He noticed Rachel begin to explain to Finn some of her song ideas, and he saw Tina chasing Mike down about how she wanted to sing with him. That was slightly odd, because Blaine was sure that Mike _couldn’t_ sing. 

As Blaine walked to his locker, he began to think of who he would want to duet with. There were eleven members in the Glee club currently - _no -_ he corrected himself, there were twelve now counting the new kid Sam, but since Puck was in juvie as Mr Schue had just announced, that made an odd number. One person wouldn’t get to sing.

Blaine racked his brains, because usually when a situation like this arose, Mike would just opt not to sing, but apparently Tina was insisting they perform a duet together, so that was problematic.

“Hey Blaine!” A dreamy voice said suddenly, and promptly skipping up to his locker was Brittany, looking practically thrilled. 

“Hey Britt.” He returned, beginning to shove books into his locker. 

“You excited about this week’s assignment?”

“Funnily enough, I was just thinking about that. There’s an uneven number of people in Glee, someone’s gonna have to sit out.”

“Or do a duet by themself?” Blaine scoffed at her. 

“You can’t do a duet by yourself Britt, that’s like… vocal masturbation.” Blaine shut his locker door closed with a bang, as the two began to make their way down the hall.

“Well, maybe you could see if there’s someone who _isn’t_ in Glee club that wants to do a duet?”

“Like who?”

“Like Kurt.” Blaine froze, looking at Brittany in astonishment. The ditsy cheerleader gave him a small smirk, before turning on her heel and walking down the hall in the opposite direction. 

“Wait… what?” Blaine called after her, but mostly speaking to himself. As he watched her retreat, Blaine thought of the possibility. Kurt had sung in Glee club last week, and from what he could tell, he had found it healing. Plus, the club _loved_ his voice. After his performance the group couldn’t stop gushing about how angelic it was. Even Rachel was impressed (and slightly threatened). 

But perhaps asking Kurt to sing was inappropriate, his father had just gotten out of the hospital, and he probably had enough on his plate already. _But it couldn’t hurt._ Blaine Anderson needed a singing partner, and Kurt Hummel seemed the perfect candidate. 

Decidedly, Blaine turned on his heel and started off down the hall, ducking into different classrooms in search of Kurt. After checking the boy’s locker, the cafeteria, dozens of empty classrooms, even the choir room, all areas to no avail, Blaine felt like just sending a simple text when he got home that night, when a more obvious location struck him. 

_The football field._

And sure enough, when Blaine eventually arrived at the stadium's entrance and walked across the large expanse of green pitch, he saw a single player left on the field. He was tall, and stood in front of a line of footballs perched next to each other, equally spaced out. He was making his way through them, kicking one after another perfectly through the goalposts. There was only one boy Blaine knew who could kick with such perfect form, and that boy was coincidentally the exact person he was looking for. 

“Hey, Kurt!” Blaine called, jogging up to him happily. Kurt turned around to face Blaine, smiling at him approaching, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Blaine felt like he had interrupted something. Something personal. 

“Hi.” Kurt returned, looking down at the ground sheepishly. Blaine came to a stop in front of him and placed his hands on his hips, surveying the array of footballs strewn around them. 

“What are you doing?” Blaine gestured towards the goalposts.

“Oh… uh, letting off some steam.” Kurt walked back towards the line, continuing to kick as he spoke. “I found that it’s a really good stress reliever, I’ve been coming out here whenever I’m angry about something.”

“What are you angry about?” Blaine shoved his hands into his Cheerio's uniform pockets and walked towards Kurt carefully, studying his distressed face. Kurt sighed.

“A lot of things.” He walked towards another ball, swinging his leg back in preparation. “School.” He kicked. “Finn.” He kicked another. “My Dad.” Kurt went to fire another ball across the field, but hesitated and let his leg hand loose. Apparently the mention of his father had taken over his thought process. He looked upset. 

“How is he?” Blaine asked, taking a step closer.

“He’s recovering… slowly.” Kurt turned to face him completely. “I’m just worried about him.” It seemed as if there was more he wanted to say, but Blaine didn’t push. 

“You said you were mad at Finn?” Blaine said after a while, as Kurt let out a small laugh. “How come?” Kurt exhaled, staring out into the distance, apparently avoiding eye contact. 

“He isn’t really liking the idea that our parents are dating.” 

“Yeah, he told me about that.”

“What did he say?” Blaine looked up at Kurt, who was now staring at him fully, his attention span increasing. 

“He said something about how he felt like it was too soon for his mom.” Blaine recalled the conversation he had endured with the gangly football player earlier that day. “I think it’s all a bit of a shock to him.”

“Yeah, well it’s a shock for me too.” Kurt countered quickly, walking off towards the goalposts to collect some of the football’s he had kicked. Blaine followed the boy, reaching down and picking up some to help. Kurt nodded his head in thanks. There was a moment of comfortable silence as the two retrieved footballs and dumped them in a large basket to be taken back to the locker rooms. Eventually, once the field was clear, Kurt spoke. 

“Thanks for the help, Blaine. I’ll see you around.” Kurt grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, walking off towards the exit, when Blaine quickly remembered what he had initially come for. 

“Kurt, wait up!” He called, running after the boy and touching his shoulder, gesturing for him to turn around. Kurt did, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face. “I was just wondering…” Blaine looked down and knitted his hands together nervously, rambling out his words in a panicked rush. “... Whether you’d be interested in singing a duet with me in Glee club this week?” Kurt straightened.

“Can’t you just sing with someone who’s actually _in_ your Glee club?” 

“I could _,_ but there’s an odd number of people and…” He blushed deeply, knowing it too late to back out now. “I really wanna sing with you.” Blaine said it in almost a mumble, feeling his heart hammering inside his chest. Looking up apprehensively from the ground to study Kurt’s facial expression, Blaine noticed the boy was smiling, and he even saw a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. Kurt looked as though he were thinking. 

“I like your voice, it’s nice. With a bit of work we could pull something together. I do think your tenor would complement my countertenor rather well.” Kurt thought aloud, as Blaine felt hope rise within him.

“Is that- is that a yes?” Kurt smirked, looking as though he were thinking. His mouth twitched to the side and his eyes flicked upward. Eventually, he looked back down at Blaine, teasing him with his long answer. 

“Yes.” 

***

_I won't go breaking your heart_

_Don't go breaking my heart_

_Don't go breaking my_

_I won't go breaking your heart_

_Don't go breaking my heart_

_Oh yeah…_

Rachel and Finn held the last note of ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ with ease, and they breathed heavily as both of them recovered from the performance.

“We’re totally going to win this thing.” Finn said, almost as if he couldn’t quite believe it. Rachel felt a sinking feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

“Yeah I know.” She said quietly, brow furrowed, making her way to a chair and taking a seat. It was weird, usually after a performance she felt happy and confident, but now she felt a melancholy, empty feeling inside her chest. 

“Wow. Don’t be sad. I mean, Breadstix has these vegan meatballs, they’re… they’re okay.“I’m not really a nice person. I’m selfish.” Rachel said immediately, doubt creeping in, because she knew it to be true. Finn looked shifty, coming to take a seat beside her. “The fact is, if I’m only really generous if there’s something in it for me.” 

“Yeah, but I still like you.”

“But you, you’re so… kind, a-and open.” She looked over at Finn, who wore a sad smile on his face. “Well, it’s made me want to be a better person.” Rachel paused for a moment, thoughts racing through her head. She always got what she wanted. Every solo, every lead, one click of her fingers and she had it. All her friends worked so hard, and what did they get? To sway in the background while she belted out a Broadway ballad? It’s not like she was going to _stop_ doing that, but couldn’t her friends have at least _one_ week in the spotlight? “We have to throw the competition.” Rachel said, trying to hide her giggle at Finn’s terrified expression.

“I love Breadstix.” He defended sadly. 

“No, i-i-if we wanna win Nationals, then we need star power, and not just from me. We need more members who are eye-catching and stand out, we need _Kurt_ .” Finn’s eyes flicked back and forth in thought, Rachel continued. “His performance of _I Want To Hold Your Hand_ last week was stunning _._ We need that emotion to win, we _need_ Kurt to join Glee Club.” 

“How is throwing the competition going to do that?”

“Blaine told me that he asked Kurt to sing with him. If they win this competition then maybe Kurt will enjoy the rush of performing with us so much that he’ll audition. I mean, that’s why _you_ joined, isn’t it?” Finn looked at Rachel with adoration.

“Wow, Rachel, I’ve never seen you like this. I’m kind of impressed.” She smiled and rubbed his shoulder affectionately, all the while pondering how she and Finn could possibly _lose_ a singing competition. They needed to do something so bad the club would _have_ to vote for Kurt. Something that would ensure them a loss and Kurt and Blaine an easy win. It was then the perfect idea came to Rachel, she grabbed Finn’s hand and set off back to her house to design costumes.

***

Blaine poured over duets all night. At first, he was going to choose something romantic and personal, like ‘S’Wonderful’ from Funny Face, but that felt like it was too soon, too forward, too much. And, in his fantasies, that song was saved for the first time they said ‘I love you’. He very briefly considered ‘Come What May’ but ran into the same problem. (And that one was saved for their wedding. _Jesus_ . Blaine really needed to stop obsessing.) In contrast, he had also considered something like ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’ by Wham, but felt that it wasn’t romantic _enough_ . He still wanted to inspire _some_ sort of romantic attraction in Kurt.

In the end, he settled on a classic, and texted Kurt with the news, expecting some kind of praise for his ingenuity, but he didn’t reply until late. And when he finally did, it was brief:

FROM KURT:

Sounds good. Practise tomorrow in the choir room at lunch?

Blaine could tell that Kurt wasn’t completely healed from the previous week, and didn’t push a conversation, but was glad for his and the boy's tentative friendship. 

The next day, Kurt met him in the choir room and they both rehearsed the duet. At first they both figured out who would sing what, and then practiced without music. Following that, they rehearsed it with backing, and finally added in some choreography. 

Kurt had been slightly tense when they had started, he was resigned and non communicative, but the moment music began to play and they both began to sing, he became a whole new person. He was making jokes and laughing along at things he probably would’ve usually found irritating. It was nice to see Kurt so happy. Blaine found himself loving the way the other boy giggled and laughed with him when either one of them messed up, when he could’ve just as easily made a snarky comment. Blaine felt so light in his presence, and once the two were forced apart by the school bell, he felt rather heavy. 

He was so excited to show New Directions their duet, and even more excited that the winner’s won a trip to Breadstix. The idea of him and Kurt talking and laughing over dinner made him feel practically giddy. Although, Blaine had not _told_ Kurt that the winner would get to go to Breadstix together, he didn’t want to scare him. And besides, it was unlikely they would win. Blaine heard that Santana and Mercedes were singing together, so that was an unstoppable duo. Plus, Rachel and Finn were doing a duet, and they would _obviously_ pull out some jazzy, romantic song to thrill while also melt the hearts of the audience. But Blaine was confident that him and Kurt were well prepared and they had a good plan. Who knows? Perhaps they would be in with a shot.

***

Rachel and Finn’s performance was… awful. Blaine was shocked while watching it. What were they thinking? The song was about being "born again" through each other's touch, and their costume choice was awful and _very_ offensive. After they finished performing, Blaine could’ve sworn he saw Rachel and Finn looking at him, but chose to brush it off, because he and Kurt would be performing that afternoon. 

Kurt had shot him a text, clarifying the time at which they would be singing to the Glee club. And the that time eventually came for their duet and the club had settled into their seats to watch the performance, Blaine had relaxed his own nerves. Kurt arrived soon after, looking happy and confident. He initially walked over to Quinn, Santana and Brittany and had a chat with them, before making his way over to Blaine with a spring in his step and a grin on his face. He had never seen the boy so genuinely thrilled, it was refreshing.

“You excited?” Blaine asked as Kurt walked over to the band to give them their song selection.

“Hell yeah, we’ve got this in the bag.” Blaine laughed, shrugging his shoulders modestly, yet secretly knowing that with Finn and Rachel out of the race they might just win this thing. Perhaps Blaine’s belief had something to do with Kurt’s confidence rubbing off on him infectiously. But before he could dwell any longer, Mr Schue entered with a clap of his hands.

“Alright, guys! Take a seat, settle down.” The group quieted immediately, everyone watching the teacher with anticipation. It was dead silent, only the rustling of students passing the choir room from outside was audible. “Okay, we’ve got two new competitors today, both of whom are singing, in hope of winning that dinner for two at breadstix...” Blaine felt his stomach lurch uncomfortably, remembering that he had forgotten to tell him the prize for those who won. He felt Kurt’s eyes on him, and hesitantly glanced to his right to see the boy, evidently, looking at him with a smirk and raised eyebrow. Grimacing, Blaine looked away from him and turned his attention back to Mr Schue. “...Now, Kurt has come to help Blaine out with a duet today, I expect you all to show them both respect..” He spoke to the boys. “Are you two ready?” They nodded, Blaine rather eagerly. “Whenever you're ready.” 

As they both turned from the group to face the whiteboard and the band prepared, Blaine felt Kurt lean closer to him and hissed something in his ear. 

“You didn’t tell me the winner got a trip to Breadstix!” He whisper-shouted, a slight smile to his tone.

“I know… I’m sorry I should’ve told you.” Kurt stepped back to his position, shaking his head.

“You better give this everything you’ve got, Anderson. We’re winning this thing.” Blaine turned to Kurt with a shocked expression, raised eyebrows and mouth agape. Kurt didn’t react, he just counted himself in slowly as the opening notes began to play. Blaine did the same, shaking his head and laughing.

Kurt _wanted_ to win. He wanted to win a trip to Breadstix - _with Blaine._ A bubble of hope rose in Blaine’s chest at the prospect, but shook it off quickly, because the music to _‘American Boy’_ was now playing and they were about to sing. As the two boys turned on their heels and opened their mouths, Blaine made a decision right there - he was giving this performance his everything. They were winning.

_This a number one champion sound_

_Yeah, Estelle, we about to get down_

_Who the hottest in the world right now?_

_Just touched down in London town_

_Bet they give me a pound_

_Tell them put the money in my hand right now_

_Tell the promoter we need more seats_

_We just sold out all the floor seats…_

Kurt broke in with his angelic voice, as the room started to whoop and cheer. Blaine began the simple choreography they had both created, going along with Kurt in unison. As they approached Verse One, they both made their way over to the front row and interacted with the crowd, shaking their hands and pulling some of the girls up to dance with them, to which they obliged. And when Kurt sang the line _‘Don't like his baggy jeans but I might like what's underneath them._ ’ Kurt suggestively looked down at his crotch and lifted his eyebrow up at the crowd, receiving a wolf whistle from Santana. Blaine almost forgot the next move as he revelled in Kurt’s impromptu choreography decision, but came back to his senses and forced his feet to cooperate so he could jump onto the piano next to Kurt, singing the next line. 

_And, no, I ain't been to MIA_

_I heard that Cali never rains and New York's wide awake_

_First let's see the West End, I'll show you to my bredrin_

_I'm liking this American boy, American boy…_

Blaine and Kurt teased each other throughout the whole song, throwing the other a wink once in a while or shoving each other playfully, by the end they were practically elated. They even got half the club to stand up and dance with them, so as the final notes rang out, everyone was laughing hysterically and the two received a large round of applause. 

“Wow! That was amazing, you guys!” Mr Schue said, grabbing both their shoulders and shaking them happily. “You all have your work cut out for you, I’ll tell you that much!” 

***

“Ok, I’ll get you up to speed. So… Sam and Quinn sang a duet, _‘Lucky’_ it was called. They were sweet and charming, but _so_ drab and there was no choreography whatsoever. And then Tina and Mike did a duet together-”

“Wait.” Kurt interjected, holding his hand up to ask Blaine to pause. They were sitting in the back of the choir room, Kurt there just to hear the results, where he asked Blaine what the other members of the club had sung for the duet competition, causing them to end up in a conversation where they basically bitched about their friends' performances. They were especially evaluating how their duet differed from the others, and Blaine was enjoying seeing Kurt’s competitive side come out. He continued. “Didn’t you say Mike couldn’t sing?”

“Exactly, that gives us an advantage.” Blaine exclaimed. “Now, I’ve already told you about Rachel and Finn’s _horrible_ duet didn’t I?” Kurt nodded, apparently recalling the conversation the two had had earlier that day. “So we don’t need to worry about them, the ones we should look out for are Santana and Mercedes. They sang an amazing version of _‘River Deep, Mountain High’_. When I watched it, I thought that it was unbeatable, but I know that our performance was better.” Kurt rubbed his chin, taking in the information slowly.

“Isn’t this judged by majority vote?” Kurt asked, looking over at Blaine, who nodded. “I wouldn’t worry, Blaine. We’ve got this in the bag, I’m sure of it.” Blaine laughed, as the two did a silent high five and giggled, before Mr Schue walked in. 

“Okay, guys! Settle down, it’s time to vote.” The room cheered at that, as everyone took their respective seats by their duet partner. “Since Artie and Brittany have dropped out of the race, I guess it’s time to take it to a vote.” Everyone took a piece of paper from the teacher and began to scribble names down, and although Mr Schue had specifically told them not to vote for themselves, Blaine did anway, as did Kurt. 

Everyone eventually handed in their folded slips of paper and took a seat, all of them anxiously waiting for the results. The room was silent as Schue counted them, until he eventually spun round on his chair to face the group.

“Well, even though it looks like just about _everyone_ voted for themselves-” Kurt and Blaine shared a look. “Even those who didn’t compete, we do have a winner.” Mr Schue took a Breadstix voucher out from behind him, which looked as though it had been hurriedly printed out, and showed it to the room dramatically. “And the winner is…” Suspense immediately filled the air, everyone going deadly silent, even Britt and Artie, who didn't even compete. “...by two votes…” Mr Schue continued, Kurt and Blaine glanced at each other in anticipation, sharing a worried grimace. “...Kurt and Blaine!” 

“YES!” Blaine shouted, all too excitedly, getting up from his seat and making his way to the front of the room, plucking the Breadstix vouchers right out from Schue’s hand. Blaine was so thrilled, he even did something he almost never did, a celebratory dance where he flaunted the Breadstix vouchers to his friends in a gloating manner, waving them in front of their faces. He probably should've felt bad for bragging, but it just felt so good. He never won anything.

“What? What?” Santana exclaimed, getting to her feet and approaching Blaine. “Screw that, I want my stix!” She tried to tear the vouchers from his hand, but he pushed her back and held them away from her. 

“Ah, let it go. Let go. Let it go!” Mercedes said, dragging Santana off him. 

“Unbelievable!” Someone said from the back of the room. Ignoring them, Blaine looked over at Kurt, who was shaking hands with Quinn politely and making his way down the steps, weaving through the chairs, and patting Santana gently on the back while whispering rushed apologies. Without thinking, Blaine ran up to Kurt and took his hand, warm and soft, dragging him to the front of the room to take a bow with him, to which he obliged reluctantly, hands still clasped together.

Blaine heard him sarcastically whisper a ‘ _sorry_ ’ at Mercedes and Santana, who were currently hugging each other in comfort, morbidly upset. It was quite a funny sight. 

“Wow… this is unbelievable, I don’t know how this happened.” Blaine heard Rachel say, although it sounded staged. But Blaine didn’t overthink it, he was too high on the adrenaline of winning. Instead, he nudged Kurt’s side with his shoulder, giving him a thumbs up. Kurt returned the gesture, before releasing Blaine’s hand and walking over to thank Mr Schue for the chance to sing. 

Blaine turned back to the departing group, smiling at them far too happily. He looked over at Santana, who seemed to have recovered from her loss, and was now smirking at him in a suggestive manner. She kept flicking her eyes from him to Kurt, and Blaine could’ve sworn he saw her mouthing _‘wanky’_. Instead of retaliating, he just shrugged at her, and instead allowed his gaze to land on Kurt, who was laughing at something Mr Schue had said. 

He and Kurt were going to Breadstix, _together._ Blaine actually bounced on the balls of his seat in excitement, clutching the vouchers in his hand. They had spent time alone outside of school together before, after all, they had enjoyed a movie night at Kurt’s place after only a _week_ of knowing each other, but that was different. They didn’t talk, they just watched movies. This was a seated, focused conversation between the two people. No inane motion picture plotlines to interrupt their conversation, just Kurt and Blaine. 

So as he watched the boy turn on his heel and wave goodbye to the choir room, taking one final applause and bow for his win, Blaine realized just how excited he was. And he became even more excited when Kurt shot him a casual text later that night:

_FROM: KURT_

_Told you we had it in the bag! What do you say to Breadstix tomorrow night? You free for 7?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone have any any fanfic recommendations? I have nothing to read at the moment and I can't find anything good!! x


	12. Positive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My school has finally broken up! It's only for a week, but hopefully I'll have a bit more time to write this story. Also, I've hit a bit of a milestone... the doc I'm writing this on has just reached 100 pages, which is pretty exciting:) I've never written a book that's reached that kind of number because I've never had the motivation to get further than a couple chapters, but I'm really liking the storyline for this, so I have high hopes for me finishing it!! xox

As Blaine walked up the sidewalk in approach to Breadstix, his mind was full of buzzing thoughts. He had been constructing scenarios for the evening ahead for the better half of an hour, with no other apparent reason for doing so than just a way to keep his mind busy as he drove along the roads of Lima. But now Blaine had gotten out from his car and was walking toward the restaurant, Breadstix, and could already hear the soft, rolling jazz playing inside the building, only causing anticipation to rise within him.

That day at school had ebbed by slower than old treace, Blaine constantly checking the precariously hung clock for when the school bell would finally dismiss him, and he could retreat home to prepare himself for dinner with Kurt. 

After a short debate, the two had decided they would drive to Breadstix separately, and although Blaine was disappointed that they wouldn’t be carpooling together where they could belt out songs on the radio like last time, he was grateful for the peace and quiet as he drove. It allowed his brain time to think, comprehend. 

Eventually, he arrived at the large, glass front door of Breadstix and peered inside. Sure enough, the place was busy, causing Blaine to mentally kick himself for not calling ahead to reserve a table. He hoped that one would soon free up, he seemed to be the only one waiting. So instead, Blaine turned back toward the parking lot and leant up against the side of the building, adjusting his collar. He checked his watch, routinely, screwing his face up at what it read.

_ 7:04 _

Kurt was late. Only by four minutes, which really wasn’t much, but late nonetheless. But before Blaine’s mind could overthink any scenarios as to why Kurt had not arrived promptly on time like he had, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket rhythmically, signalling an incoming call. He dug inside and pulled out the flashing screen, smiling as Kurt’s name popped up.

“Hey, you.” Blaine smiled through the phone, feeling surprised with himself at his forward opening.

“Hi.” Kurt said grimly on the other line, and Blaine felt his stomach sink at the boy’s tone. “Are you at Breadstix yet?”

“Uh… yeah, I just got here.” He said, moving away from the wall and pacing back and forth along the artificial lawn. “Are you okay? What’s going on, you sound worried.”

“N-no, I’m fine.” Kurt said, a small laugh to his voice. “I just wanted to call ahead because- uh… I.” He was apparently struggling to find the words. “Look I am so  _ so  _ sorry, Blaine, but I can’t make it tonight.” Feeling his stomach plummet, Blaine stopped pacing. The confidence he had held when answering the phone call immediately dripped away. 

“Uh… okay.” He choked out, trying to hide his voice shaking, yet failing. “H-howcome?” 

“I just got a call from Finn, he said something about Football practice. It completely slipped my mind, Coach told us yesterday we had extra practice this weekend cause we’ve got our first game  _ tomorrow _ .”

“It’s almost dark, Kurt. Does Beiste really want you to practice now?”

“That’s what I thought, and I asked Finn, but he said that Coach wants to work on some last minute drills with the team, I don’t really know. I was going to call you earlier, but I thought that maybe I could get out of it in time, but turns out I can’t. I am so sorry, I feel awful.”

“Don’t worry about it, Kurt, it’s okay.” Blaine replied honestly, feeling disappointed, but understanding the boy's reasoning. He knew that if Sue ordered  _ him _ to Cheerios practice, he would go. Afterall, he made a commitment, and his conscience wouldn’t let himself back out on it for a dinner he could have any day of the week. Blaine really didn’t mind. 

“No, it’s not. I feel awful.” Kurt persisted. 

“Kurt, it’s fine… really. Mr Schue is paying, remember? We can reschedule for another time.” He heard him sigh. 

“Are you sure?”

“One hundred percent.” Blaine clarified, smiling through the phone, trying to get across his certainty, because it really was fine. Blaine had taught himself not to get too hung up over things he had no control over, even when that came to Kurt. “Don’t think about it too much, go kick ass in practice. Hope you score a goal… or touchdown… or a- I don’t know how Football works, what I mean to say is have fun.” Blaine heard Kurt laugh, though slightly distorted through the phone line. 

“Will do, I’ll text you later.”

“Bye, Kurt.”

“Bye… thank you again!” And with that, Kurt hung up the phone, rushing out affirmations of apologies and words of thanks. Blaine smiled and stuffed the device back into his coat pocket, looking around the parking lot, feeling slightly lost. 

Despite the fact that the situation Blaine had found himself in seemed heartbreaking and slightly sad to the naked eye, he really was fine. He felt as though he had control over his crush on Kurt, and perhaps with a bit of time and healing he could get over it. But for now, Blaine would just head home and get any homework done, perhaps watch some TV. He was  _ fine _ . 

Suddenly however, just as Blaine was about to leave, the door swung open to the restaurant, and the warm smell of pizza and other italian like foods wafted out and filled his nostrils, making Blaine’s stomach become suddenly empty and his pupils grow about five sizes larger. 

He sighed deeply, trying to resist the urge to march on in and just eat alone, but shook himself quickly. Kurt had won the dinner with him, they would either both go to Breadstix  _ together  _ or not at all. It was then however, that Blaine spotted a sign stood precariously outside the large front doors, reading: 

_ NEW BREADSTIX FEATURE: THE TO-GO BREADSTIX! _

_ ENJOY OUR FINEST CUISINE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME _

_ COME ORDER NOW! _

An idea struck Blaine in that moment, and before he knew it, he found himself rushing inside and ordering quickly, guessing from the menu what Kurt may want. After a few minutes waiting, a patron came out with two paper bags with Blaine’s name marked in a blue pen, Blaine grabbed them with a ‘thank you’, before running out to his car and hitting the road. He drove so fast down the highway that he was surprised he didn’t get stopped, and was relieved when he eventually pulled up to McKinley High, hopping out of his car and into the dim evening. The football stadium could be seen from a distance, now that the large lights were on to illuminate the field, and Blaine felt his stomach jolt. This time, unlike others, no regret or doubt settled it. Blaine was sure this was a brilliant gesture, and was positive it would have the desired effect. 

Positive. 

***

“Lazy! Lazy idiots!” Kurt sat on the sideline, watching Coach Beiste pace up and down the line of them, pointing at each one and picking out their individual sporting flaws. Kurt really didn’t see the purpose, putting the team down in hope of building them up, but Beiste seemed to be on a roll. “And you, Azimio! What is with that sloppy passing, huh? You think we can cost that kind of miscommunication tomorrow? Do you?” Kurt held his breath as Beiste approached him, her hands on her hips and nostrils flared. He braced himself, knowing that he had not been on best form that evening. Kurt didn’t know whether it was pre-game nerves, or if he was having an off day, but Beiste was sure to lay into him. “Hummel, you’re usually so on point… what happened? You’ve been missing kicks all night.”

“I’m sorry, Coach. Out of practice.”

“Well somehow you gotta get your crap together by tomorrow, because if we can’t even beat  _ Westwood High _ of all places, we’ve got no chance for a championship this year.” The team stayed silent, everyone nodding numbly, staring down at their shoes, some picking at grass, ripping the green strip apart shred by shred. It was then where Kurt felt Beiste begin to approach him, and he looked up from his seat nervously. “If it comes to it, Hummel, I need to know that we can count on you to get that goal. You’re on this team because you’re good, so start acting like it.” Kurt nodded, looking back down at the ground, his heart beating inside his mouth as Beiste retreated from him and addressed the group, continuing with her ‘pep’ talk. 

As Kurt sat there, his body numb and heat rattling against his ribcage, he felt reality hit him. Kurt had been so casually enjoying the secure feeling of his letterman jacket against his skin, basking in the glory at the way it bought him popularity and a seat at the table, that now the day had come where he could finally prove his worth, and he felt hopeless. Like he was at the bottom of the food chain again. No rhinestone studded jacket could change that empty feeling. 

_ Did he really deserve it? _

But Coach Beiste’s voice cut into his thoughts, and Kurt perked up, studying her with limited interested.

“...So that is why you guys have  _ got  _ to start acting like a team. Right now, you’re all eleven individual guys out on a field passing a ball between them, when I need you to be one, unstoppable unit. Understand?”

“Understand.” Everyone repeated with various levels of enthusiasm, all extremely irritable. Kurt went to rise from his seat and stalk back to the locker rooms, planning on calling Blaine and apologizing yet again (Kurt still felt awful) when Karofsky sarcastically sniffed and spoke up. 

“Yeah, let’s work as one big happy,  _ gay _ team.” He drawled, and Kurt's body stiffened. “Maybe if we win, we can go sing a freakin’ song about it.” Kurt felt the gruff boy glaring at him, but chose to pointedly stare down at his feet, not daring to meet his gaze. 

“Karofsky.” Beiste warned, stepping toward him.

“I don’t get it, how do you expect us to work as a team when half of us are in that stupid,  _ freakin’ _ Glee Club?” 

“Shut it, Karofsky.” Puck said, getting to his feet in anger and walking toward him. 

“What are you gonna do, huh? Get your other little merry band of  _ gays _ and freaks to sparkle me with fairy dust?” 

“I don’t know about fairy dust but I have a trick or two up my sleeve to send you back to whatever hole you crawled out of.” 

“Gentleman, take a seat.” Beiste ordered from where she was standing. Karofksy and Puck ignored her, continuing to size each other up. 

“You wonder why the team has been so freakin’ crap lately? Glee Club is distracting you freaks, it’s like Football doesn’t even matter to you anymore. Our  _ own _ kicker can’t even score a goal!” Kurt lifted his head swiftly at the mention of his position, massaging his throbbing temple with his hand. 

“Back off, Kurt. He’s not even in Glee!” Puck said, his voice rising. Kurt raised an eyebrow, surprised that Puckerman stood up for him so quickly, he had never really spoken to him, but appreciated the gesture. “And screw you, screw all of you!” And with that, the team, bar Kurt, got to their feet and started screaming at each other, pointing fingers and shouting. Beiste rain to the middle of them, pushing everyone back. Kurt felt his headache increase, placing his face in the palms of his hands and sighing in eneraged annoyance. When suddenly, the arguing became so irritable that he had to say something.

“Shut it! Shut it, all of you!” Kurt’s voice echoed throughout the stadium, so loud that he was sure bird’s flew from their branches due to its volume. He actually surprised himself with how loud he shouted, and apparently surprised his teammates, because they all silenced very quickly. Kurt continued. “What the hell is this team anymore, huh? It’s a pathetic excuse. I’ve only been on the Titans for a short while, and let’s be honest, we don’t gel perfectly, actually, we don’t gel at all. But you know what, we put up with each other, and suddenly, the night before our  _ first _ game of the season we fall apart?” 

Everyone remained quiet as Kurt spat out his rant, a rant he continued, as he apparently had grasped their attention. “I’m sorry, but I don’t give a shit if you don’t like each other. Outside of this stadium, you can argue and be petty jerks as much as you please, but out on that field you have to at least tolerate each other.” No one said anything, they all just looked down at the ground, stealing glares at each other from the corner of their eyes, furious. Finn, who was towering over all of them at the back, gave Kurt an encouraging nod. Beiste did as well, as if in thanks, releasing Sam and Azimio, who she had been holding back from attacking each other. Everyone seemed solemn, everyone but Karofsky. 

“Why should we take advice from you? You freaking  _ homo _ !” He spat harshly, and Beiste turned to him with an outraged look. Kurt clenched his fists so hard into his palm that he was sure his nails drew blood, gnawing down on his lip to stop himself from saying anything he would regret. And then, it all happened so fast. Kurt just saw Sam spring from his space and launch himself at Karofsky, driving his arm back and pushing it forward, connecting flesh to jaw. Karofksy groaned in pain, stumbling backward, clutching his face. Kurt gasped, rushing over and pulling Sam away harshly, tugging him off the pitch. 

“Sam, go to the locker rooms. Cool off.” Kurt ordered, pointing him in the direction. Sam exhaled irritably and did as he was told, Kurt gave him a pat on the back and pushed him gently in the direction of the locker rooms. 

He watched the boy’s retreating body, stopping in his tracks. He was tired, sick and tired of people being forced into situations where they had to stand up for him. Blaine had done it, Finn had, Santana and Quinn even did it, and now it was Sam, who Kurt didn’t even know very well. 

Massaging his knuckles in annoyance, he headed back to the group, who were all talking in hushed whispers, glancing from Kurt, to Karofsky, to the door Sam had retreated through. Kurt didn’t get it, he hadn’t even come out to the school yet. And just because Karofsky had once saw him dancing with Blaine at a party, he was being given this much grief? He hated it. He hated the fact his teamates assumed he was gay because of his eccentric style and bold clothing choices. He hated the way they glared and talked about him. He hated the guilt building up in his chest each time someone stood up for him. Kurt wanted it all to end.

So as the team filed off the stadium and headed back to the locker rooms, he chose to stay behind, in favour of sitting on the benches and holding his head in his hands, thinking.

“You alright, dude? Do you want me to take you home?” Finn said just as he was about to leave. Kurt glanced up at him, thankful that despite Finn’s reluctance to accept their parent impending relationship, he was still the nice guy he had knew.

“No, I’m okay. Just need time to think.” Finn nodded sympathetically, before slowly turning from Kurt with his bag slung over his shoulder and began to march back to the rest of the group. Now, as Kurt returned his face to his palms, the field was empty. Some of the large stadium lights flickered off down the end, leaving only a few left on, scattered about randomly. Kurt felt like crying, something he resisted the urge to do every day. He just felt so impendingly sad that it seemed helpless. All he had wanted was to move to this new school and enjoy his junior and senior year in peace, but judging off of the way he was being treated after only being there for a month, Kurt felt as though he had lost all hope. But what else was there to do but sit and endure it? 

Of course he never went to his father about any of this, Burt was still recovering from a heart attack, he didn't need anything more on his plate. Besides, Kurt knew how to keep a poker face, to not let his emotions show. So long as he appeared nonchalant, no pinkness in his cheeks to betray him, everything would be just fine. It was then however, that an excitable voice snapped Kurt from his minds wondering, and he looked up to scout out the source. 

“Hey, Kurt!” Kurt squinted into the darkness, just in time to see Blaine marching across the football field with a surprising level of purpose. Kurt raised his eyebrows at him, releasing his face from his hands and smiling, feeling happiness begin to overtake his solemn. 

“What th- Blaine?” He said almost as if in questioning, as he really was the last person Kurt had been expecting to see. “Wha- what are you doing here?” 

“Oh!” He grinned in that dopey way he did. “I figured, since you can’t come to Breakstix, I thought I’d bring Breadstix to you!” It was only now that Kurt noticed Blaine was carrying two large paper bags, and he felt the corner of his mouth crease with a grin. 

Kurt smiled. No one had ever made him a picnic before. “Blaine,” he gushed. “That’s so sweet, you didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to. I’m your friend and this is what friends do.”

They held each other’s gaze for a moment before Kurt forced himself out of it. He could see what was happening, he wasn’t an idiot. Anyone with eyes could notice the way that Blaine looked at him, and he wasn’t exactly a stranger to lingering looks, so he could recognise one when he saw it. And, honestly, Kurt was flattered. In another universe, he could totally see himself crushing on Blaine, but in the one he was living in, he was just happy to have found a friend in him. For now, that was all. 

However, one thing he wasn’t going to do, was lead Blaine on.

“Let's sit down, shall we?” Kurt said. 

Blaine nodded and opened the bags on the ground, revealing a platter of food and a blanket that looked crinkled, yet surprisingly clean. He must have dug it out of his car. Kurt surveyed the size of the stuffed bags and suppressed a giggle. 

_ Jesus _ . This boy was really coming on strong.

They set it up in the centre of the field with all of the house lights still blaring, Kurt’s way of saying  _ ‘We’re not gonna make out in some secluded corner, not tonight anyway’  _ but it didn’t really have the desired effect, the setting was still uncomfortably romantic.

Blaine served up the different courses and Kurt tried to steer the conversation away from more sensitive topics. For example, the duets competition, where he knew he had gotten too flirty with Blaine. It was awful, looking back on it. He was just high on attention and praise and the heated glances of a cute boy and he allowed himself to feel sexy for just a minute. He regretted it. Especially now, when Blaine was practically undressing him with his eyes.

“I didn’t really know what you wanted, so I ordered a bit of everything.” Kurt tried not to let Blaine’s bashful cuteness overcome him, and instead smiled and looked at the ground, wondering how to make the setting feel less romantic than it did. 

“Well, you did a very good job.” He said, helping himself to some of the food sprawled out in front of them. “I didn’t realise Breadstix delivered.” 

“I didn’t either, it’s a new feature I think.” Kurt nodded to Blaine, smiling at him kindly. There was quiet for a moment, it was the type of quiet that was on the verge of uncomfortable, but not quite there. Kurt didn't want to risk it crossing that line however, so burst out with some witty comment, and they both fell into easy, lighthearted conversation. The two bounced remarks between themselves like a kid's rubber ball. Kurt was never sure if either one of them got wittier as the night wore on, or if it was just the effect of them both being relatively tired from a long day at school making everything seem so much funnier.

When all the food had finally gone after about a half hour of chatting, Kurt wiped his hands on his jersey, only realising then that it was covered in mud, along with the rest of his outfit.

“Oh God.” Kurt said with a laugh, surveying the amount of dirt smeared across his body, only just realising there was a lot on his face. He felt himself cringe as he reached up to try and wipe it off, thinking of what a nightmare his skincare routine would be that evening. “I am literally covered in mud.” Blaine began to laugh along as Kurt tried to wipe it off. “I’m sorry, I must look awful.” It was then that Blaine stopped laughing, and instead ducked his head bashfully and picked at the grass, seemingly pondering his following choice of words. Blaine's voice shook as he spoke. 

“That’s not true, you look really handsome… pretty even.” Kurt stopped rigorously scouring his jersey to look over at Blaine with trepidation, trying to not let himself become too indulged in the boy's eyes gazing at him so adoringly.

Kurt felt it, this was one of those moments where Blaine would think it was a good idea to kiss him, and Kurt would have to awkwardly tell the boy that he didn’t return said feelings… 

Well maybe he did -  _ whatever _ . He wasn’t ready. So instead, Kurt broke the gaze and cleared his throat decidedly. 

“You know, I really have to practise. I was off my game today.” He stood up, as if to tell Blaine the  _ not-date _ was over.

He didn’t seem to get that message however.

“Oh, I’ll watch you!” He smiled up at Kurt like he was the sun to his flower. It was pitiful, in a way, but that could be a bit harsh.

Kurt lined up the balls and kicked each in quick succession. Most of them went in, that cheered him up significantly, but Coach wasn’t looking for  _ most _ , she was looking for  _ all _ . 

He and Blaine walked to the end of the field and gathered the balls before lining them up again, much like the pair had the other day, only this time Kurt felt the air was far more romantic. He didn’t like it, he wouldn’t let himself lead Blaine on. It would be plain cruel. 

Kurt had to scold himself for doing just that so far through the course of their steady relationship. Agreeing to the flirty duets, inviting him for a movie night, accidentally being caught in some sort of staring battle far too much and for far too long, but he couldn’t help it. When caught up in the moment, Blaine had Kurt in a sort of inescapable trance that caused him to do such things. 

“You’re so good at this. I can’t imagine having all that pressure on me and still having to kick a ball to save the game.” said Blaine, releasing Kurt from his thoughts. 

Kurt gave him a half smile. “It’s stressful, I’ll tell you that much. And sometimes I wonder if it's all worth it.”

“Times like when?”

“Times like today.” he sighed. “Karofsky was being an ass and Sam jumped in to defend me, like the superman he thinks he is. I know it was a nice thing for him to do, but… I don’t know, I don’t like people feeling like they always have to defend me, you know? Sure, I’m not as tall or beefy as the other guys, and a lot of people make fun of me for my girly outfits, but I could sure as hell fend off a guy like Karofsky, and I don’t like people thinking I’m weak.” He paused for a moment. “Or gay, for that matter.” 

“You don’t want people thinking you’re gay?”

“I don’t want people  _ assuming _ I’m gay just because I  _ ‘give off a vibe _ ’. Even though they would be correct in that assumption, I don’t want them to put me in a box without my permission. Maybe there will come a day, I hope there will come a day, when I can walk hand-in-hand down the halls with someone that I like. Or slow dance at my prom. But until then I want people to keep their damn noses out of my business.” With that final word, he kicked the first ball, causing it to soar directly between the two posts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very self critical, so it's rather rare for me to write a chapter and genuinely like it, but I think this one is sorta cute;)


	13. Rocky Horror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was considering just not bothering writing the Rocky Horror episode, because I didn't really have much inspiration for it - but then I had a vision of some sorts, and it ended up being one of the longest chapters I've ever written!! It took a lot of motivation to finish this, so hope you enjoy:)
> 
> Also, I know that Puck isn't in this actual episode, but I've written him in here because some of the lines said just make more sense for him to say them.

They won.

The team had won the game. Kurt could hardly believe it. His father had been there to watch the whole thing, along with Carole, who stood in the stand cheering both Finn and Kurt on. And what was more, the win had come down to him. He had to make a perfect kick through the goalposts, or they would lose the game and the team would be out for the rest of the season.

But no, Kurt marched up to that damn ball, heart pounding in his mouth, and he kicked it, with such precision he was sure it was impossible not to go in. And it did, it went in _damn_ _it,_ and the stadium erupted. He was hoisted on the shoulders of his team, even Karofsky screamed his name in victory. Kurt felt on top of the world. 

After the game, he had celebrated with his family first, before being forced to take pictures with multiple people. Finn, Burt and Carole, the team, Coach Beiste, and many people he didn’t really know, but still appreciated their praise. 

Despite the fact that the events following his game winning kick were now a large blur in his head, there was one particular moment that stuck out to Kurt. 

He had been finishing up posing for a photo with Beiste, who had patted him on the back and swung him onto her shoulders while chanting his name multiple times already that evening, when Kurt heard his name being called.

He spun round, and found Blaine, running up to him with a blazing look in his eyes, his grin wide and eyes lit up. The boy was still holding his red and white pom pons lazily as he leapt forward, proceeding to envelope Kurt in a tight hug.

It took Kurt by surprise, Blaine was never so forward with acts of closeness, he rarely shook his hand, and always flinched away whenever their fingers accidentally grazed. Kurt usually wasn’t the biggest fan either, but after the initial shock died down, he found himself settling into the boy's touch. As he did, Blaine laughed and picked Kurt up, and despite the height difference, began spinning him around.

“You were amazing! You were amazing! That was- wow… incredible.” Blaine said in a frenzied rush of words. Kurt laughed and hugged him back, unintentionally burying his face into Blaine’s Cheerios uniform and smiling, so wide and broad he felt as though he could just start crying.

His embrace was warm, and Blaine’s arms seemed very protective when wrapped around his frail body. The screaming crowd around them and the inevitable stares of onlookers melted away as Kurt squeezed the boy back. 

“That was perfect, _you_ are perfect! I told you you could do it!” Blaine put him down midspin, causing Kurt to stumble on landing, but the laughter they both already held for each other only increased. 

As they stood, Kurt still bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement and Blaine’s rambling praises drifting away so that he was speaking far quieter, the two met each other's gaze. Kurt saw Blaine’s facial features soften, so much so that his excitement beforehand seemed far more tense in comparison, and now the boy had practically melted. They stayed like that for a good few moments, but it felt much longer at the time. It was as if the screaming crowd around them had slowed, and only they were moving at normal speed. 

Staring isn't quite the word for what Blaine did, though Kurt would fit the dictionary definition to a tee. His eyes rested, not unblinking but slowed; yet the effect was soft and inviting instead of harsh. Perhaps it was his lips that give away his intention, not quite smiling but tilting as if they meant to.

But it wasn’t like Kurt was completely innocent either.

It was then however, where Kurt felt a rough hand grab his shoulder harshly, dragging him away. Kurt laughed, recognising Finn's voice, and allowed himself to go with his momentum. He turned however, at the last minute before being dragged into the crowd of screaming fans, to give Blaine one last look. 

The raven-haired boy stood, his pom pons held slack in his grip, as he stared after Kurt. His features were still soft, welcoming, making Kurt giggle slightly. That was the last he saw of Blaine that night, before being absorbed into the mass of people, and soon hoisted into the air for a crowd surf.

And now, Kurt was sitting in Brittany’s bedroom, along with Santana, Quinn and Mercedes, recounting the events of the day. And as the conversation progressed, Quinn wound up explaining to Kurt Mr Schue’s idea for the school musical.

“Rocky Horror? Are you serious?” Kurt exclaimed incredulously as he painted Santana’s nails, looking over at Brittany, Quinn and Mercedes in shock. He was knelt down on the floor, Santana perched on the bed with her foot up on a stool, while the others scattered around the room randomly. The girls animatedly spoke about the musical, apparently excited. 

Personally, Kurt thought it was a ridiculous idea. He loved the show, but the themes were controversial and definitely not suited for a High school production, especially not one in Lima. Kurt was sure that Mr Schuester had gone mad.

“I know it’s a little weird, but Schue’s editing the script to remove any... more _adult_ themes.”

“So you’re cutting the entire show basically?” Kurt countered at Mercedes, who tossed a pillow at him playfully. He dodged it, shooting her an annoyed look. “Well, as long as you’re happy.”

“I am, Quinn and I are doubling up on Magenta!” Santana exclaimed happily, pulling her foot back from Kurt to inspect his work. She nodded at him approvingly, before gesturing for him to begin styling her hair.

“We just need someone to play Riff Raff.” Mercedes said, reaching over to grab a can of soda from Brittany. 

“You’re doubling up on characters, why don’t you just ask someone who’s having to share a role to do it.” Kurt said, brushing Santana's silky hair calmly, before taking a curling iron from Brittany’s bed and plugging it in. 

“None of them are right for the part.” Quinn stated helplessly, playing with the hem of her shirt. Kurt began to run the curler through Santana’s hair, when he noticed the girls share a look, as if they were debating telepathically. “We actually wanted to ask if you’d do it?” Kurt sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes, irritation overcoming him. Apparently the others noticed, because they retracted from him, almost comically.

“No. No, I’m not gonna do it.” Kurt said decidedly, shaking his head. The girls all looked at him with smirks, tilting their heads to the side, as if it would convince him. “For the last two weeks I’ve been randomly coming into Glee to sing with you guys, if I do it anymore it’ll be like I’ve _joined_ the club.”

“Well, why don’t you?” Brittany piped up for what felt like the first time that evening.

“What?”

“Join New Directions.” She finished, followed by shrieks of excitement and agreement from the other girls.

“Wha- guys, no I- I can’t…” Kurt drifted off, mulling the prospect over. Because the truth was, he did want to join Glee. He missed singing, and dancing and being part of a team that actually accepted him. In his last school, he had been part of the Glee club. They hadn’t been very good, and it was pretty hard to actually esteem them with the title of ‘Glee club’, because they didn’t enter competitions, they just met up once a week to sing and dance with each other, to have fun. Kurt enjoyed it. Perhaps he could enjoy it here, at McKinley, with a competitive team that actually may have a chance at a Championship.

However, Kurt knew that if he did join, the Football team would give him unspeakable grief, that fact was inevitable. But would it be so bad? Get tossed with a slushie once in a while and be nicknamed by the Titans behind his back, he had handled worse. And Kurt had known from the beginning that he would never compromise who he was for other people. Besides, it wasn't like he would be given too much shit from the team, he had the protection of his letterman jacket to defend himself. 

Maybe he _could_ do it. But Kurt decided not to tell the girls that, who he only realised were still sitting, staring at him, awaiting his answer. Kurt didn’t tell them his genuine interest, he instead just shook it off and distracted them with the prospect of another one of his signature facial blends, an opportunity they all jumped at in excitement. 

Kurt didn’t know what he would even sing or how he would ever go about auditioning, but it was a nice idea to have sitting in the back of his mind. So if the opportunity ever arose, he sure as hell would take it. 

***

There was loud applause from the Glee club as Carl finished his rendition of ‘ _Hot Patootie_ ’, with a painful looking split and that toothy smile, Miss Pilsbury looking extremely thrilled with him. Blaine laughed off the sweat and adrenaline of dancing around with his friends with ease, not a single care in the world. 

“No, no, wait a minute. This will not do.” Blaine turned from high fiving Tina and Mike to look at Sue Sylvester, who seemed thoroughly disappointed with the performance, or so she made it seem. 

“Excuse me?”

“For this musical to continue, we need a Frank-N-Furter, not an Eddie. Eddie was eliminated in my rewrites.” Blaine rolled his eyes at the teachers, crossing his arms and jutting his hip out to the side. He was sure that he looked extremely judgemental from the outside looking in, and thinking about it, it was because he was. The students of Glee had been caught up in far to many rows between teachers to make him feel more than a little uncomfortable when they were brought to the surface every once in a while. Alas, he continued to aimlessly listen.

“Sue’s right.” Mr Schue said, looking thoughtful - but not in the genuinely interested sense like usual. He looked snarky, and quite frankly, annoying. “You want to play in our sandbox, sing a Frank-N-Furter number.” It was then where Blaine realised something, something that caused his posture to straighten and for him to lose himself in his own world of daydreams.

He had a slight epiphany in his head. Blaine saw himself, dancing and singing on the auditorium stage, fishnet tights and all, singing _‘Sweet Transvestite_ ’. The whole club there as well, backing him up with vocals and simple yet impactful dance moves, all decked out in their costumes as well. 

“Well, I’m sorry, bro.” Carl continued. “But I think it’s fine to wear that Frankie bustier in the privacy of your own home - I’m freaky like that - but don’t you think it’s a little inappropriate in a high school musical? I mean, at least if I play Eddie, I won’t have to grind up against the students.” That was it, Blaine needed to say something. Not only so that he may get a chance to play a lead role in the musical, but to end the irritating squabbling that was beginning to progress between the teachers.

“Mr Schue.” Blaine said politely, stepping forward so that he stood, facing the adults. “I know that you need someone to play Frank-N-Furter, and if Mr Howell here doesn’t think he would be suited for the part, I just wanted to say that I would love to audition if you’d let me.” Mr Schue was looking at him, back with the thoughtful look once more, bobbing his head. He looked from Miss Pilsbury, to Sue, to Carl and then back to Blaine. 

“No need to audition, Blaine… the part’s yours. You’ll make an awesome Frank-N-Furter.” Mr Schue finished, slapping the script down as if in finalization on the piano. 

Blaine smiled so broad that he felt the corners of his mouth crease, he jumped up and down excitedly, and when Mr Schue eventually turned his back, he punched the air in a celebratory manner. The room cheered loudly as Blaine returned to them and he took a seat beside Santana, receiving pats on the backs and snarky comments from some, telling him he’d look good in the fishnets - that was mainly Puckerman.

As Blaine turned his attention back to Schue, who was beginning to explain costume fittings times, he found it difficult to concentrate. Blaine was far too high on excited energy to really care, when he knew that he had just been given a leading role in one of his favourite musicals. 

_He - Blaine Devon Anderson,_ was going to play Frank-N-Furter in McKinley High’s production of Rocky Horror.

And it was safe to say, Blaine could hardly wait.

***

Kurt walked down the silent hallway, his footsteps echoing off the walls loudly, lights flickering around him in a spooky manner. Most of his fellow teammates hated having to practice late, but Kurt enjoyed it. He enjoyed the quietness of the usually so busy school, he loved the way the classrooms seemed so much more welcoming in the evening light, he was often tempted to go into one and draw on the board, perhaps something to shock the teachers when they entered class the next morning, but refrained from it.

Kurt took a sharp left turn down the hall, seeing the exit and picking up speed, but was stopped in his tracks when he heard the thumping of music coming from inside. Despite the fact Kurt was sure it was Glee, and he had systematically been avoiding watching any of their numbers in hope that his desire to join the club would fade, the beat of the drum still drew him in, and he found himself entering through the back door. 

In front of him was the stage, and a large scale backdrop of a familiar science lab. Mr Schue was sitting at a desk in the middle of the auditorium, next to Miss Pilsbury.

“Um, also, Miss Pilsbury.” Sam said as he walked onto the stage, dressed in tight, gold boxers that left very little to the imagination. Kurt’s eyebrows shot up so high he was sure they might just fall off. The corner of his mouth twitched upward slightly at the edge, licking his lips. 

Sam looked good.

“Is there a way I could… wear, like, some gold board shorts or something? These are really short, I’m afraid I’m gonna show off some nuttage.”

Despite the fact that Sam was suited perfectly to the role of Rocky, Kurt had to admit that he was slightly jealous of the boy's physique. 

“It’s good genetics.” Kurt muttered, as if he was reassuring himself. He folded his arms and leant up against the wall. “Pisses me off.” 

It was then where the music began to play and Rachel and Finn lept into character. Kurt nodded appreciately, they were cast perfectly as Brad and Janet. 

He recognised the song, ‘Sweet Transvestite’, it was a personal favourite of his. Kurt was interested to see who Mr Schue had chosen to play Frank-N-Furter. He couldn’t think of many members of the club who would be suited to that role, well, perhaps _one_. 

But before Kurt could continue his train of thought, the elevator descended, and a raven-haired boy stepped out as Rachel screamed comically. Kurt tilted his head, smiling, as the figure was fully decked out in the fishnet tights, high boots, a corset, all topped with a garter belt and thigh high stockings.

_How d' you do I_

_See you've met my_

_Faithful handyman_

Kurt choked back a gasp, because he recognised the singer's voice. And despite the fact that the stage was far away, far enough so that the actors were just blurred figures, he recognised the physique of the student playing Frank-N-Furter. He couldn’t be sure, but as he fully emerged from the elevator, Kurt realised who it was.

 _Blaine_.

Blaine was Frank-N-Furter. 

Kurt found himself searching for a seat, keeping his eyes glued to the stage. 

_Don't get strung out_

_By the way I look_

_Don't judge a book by its cover_

_I'm not much of a man by the light of day_

_But by night, I'm one hell of a lover_

Wow. Blaine was one hell of a performer. He took the role, and he seemed to have reinterpreted the song. It was modern, edgy. Kurt loved it. And he had to admit, Blaine looked _good_ in that costume. 

_Why don't you_

_Stay for the night_

_(Night)_

_Or maybe a bite_

_(Bite)_

_I can show you my favourite_

_Obsession_

Kurt swallowed the lump he hadn’t realised had formed in his throat, as he slowly became transfixed in the performance. Blaine strutted across the stage, seductively thrusting his hips forward and running his tongue across his lip. Kurt did the same, as they had become suddenly very dry.

_But maybe the rain_

_Is really to blame_

_So I'll remove the cause_

_But not_

_The symptom_

The elevator ascended back through the air and off the stage, and it was only then Kurt realised the sweat that had formed around his collar. He leant back and rubbed the back of his neck, surprised the Frank-N-Furter look had had that effect on him. 

“Amazing! Amazing, guys!” Schue cheered, getting to his feet and clapping loudly, along with Miss Pilsbury. Kurt was so in shock of how brilliant Blaine’s performance was, that he didn’t even care as Carl burst in the back and the teachers began to argue. Blaine was just… _incredible_. Kurt was so shocked.

He made the role his own, and although he didn’t fill the shoes of Tim Curry, he did a damn good job. Kurt made a mental note to congratulate Blaine later. But now, he had to get home. Slipping out the back door of the auditorium, he made his way to the exit, noticing how late he was to dinner and picking up the pace. But sure enough, he was stopped in his tracks, as Kurt heard a loud laugh from down the hall, and the Glee club came hurrying down together, laughing and joking. Their costumes, now he could see them close up, were extremely intricately designed, they all looked so much like the actual show. 

Kurt smiled, stopping to allow them to pass. As Quinn went by, he high-fived her with a grin, reaching out and ruffling her pink wig. Scowling at him comically, she re-adjusted it and walked back to the choir room with the rest of the group.

“I’ll call you later!” She called over her shoulder, before disappearing out of sight. Kurt smiled, and waved at her, nodding his head in agreement. He stayed, for some reason, until they all disappeared out of sight. 

Sighing, he watched them retreat, pushing past the sense of longing building up inside him, turning to make his way to the exit, when he stopped himself. 

All dressed up in his black fishnets and corset, was Blaine, looking at Kurt with a dumbstruck expression. Now Blaine was closer, Kurt could really examine his outfit. He scanned him up and down, nodding appreciatively, thinking it a good choice of Mr Schue’s to have selected Blaine for the role of Frank-N-Furter, he really was perfect for it. In fact, Blaine was perfect for many musical theatre roles when Kurt thought about it. He had a quality about him that made him very flexible to many types of characters. 

Apparently, Blaine had realised he was standing, practically half naked, in front of Kurt. He blushed so deeply Kurt couldn’t help but giggle, ducking his head. 

“I-uh…” Blaine choked out, twisting his leg slightly in some sort of feeble attempt to cover up, and apparently hide some of the awkwardness he was feeling. To ease the tension, Kurt shook his head and approached Blaine, training his eyes to the ground. When he was so close to the boy that he could feel his shaking breath against him, Kurt looked down at him front under his eyelashes, releasing only when it happened how flirty the action was - he had promised himself not to lead Blaine on, but it was too late now. 

“Don’t worry.” Kurt said, leaning closer, not exactly thinking over what words escaped his lips, but he just kept talking. “It looks good on you.” Blaine took a sharp intake of breath, and Kurt smirked, lingering his gaze, before strutting off toward the exit. 

Kurt didn’t stop to look back at Blaine, he just kept walking, thinking over his actions, slightly irritated with himself. He had promised himself he wouldn’t lead Blaine on, but there he went. Kurt knew that it wasn’t fair what he was doing, toying with the guys’ feelings, because he knew at the end of it all he would have to turn him down, but Blaine brought it out of him even when he least expected it - like when he's dressed up in a black, skintight corset and makeup. 

Whenever they were in close proximity, Kurt would promise himself that he wouldn’t do it, he wouldn’t steal any flirtatious looks just for the hell of it, because like he said, it wasn’t fair on Blaine. But Kurt had never had someone who _liked_ him the way Blaine did. He continuously found himself to be a very specific type. So he sort of found it nice when someone caught feelings for him, he felt wanted. But Kurt wasn’t an idiot, he knew full well how the cheerleader saw him, it wasn’t like Blaine was subtle - half the time Kurt found himself locked in a gaze with him, Blaine had been staring at him _first_. 

And actually, Kurt sort of liked it. 

***

_You bring your knees in tight._

_But it's the pelvic thrust..._

_That really drives you insane_

_Let's do the Time Warp again!_

_Let's do the time warp again!_

“Wooh! Amazing, guys!” Mr Schue praised, positioning his hands around his mouth as he bellowed out his praises. Kurt smiled from his seat, wanting to stand and applaud the group like Schue was doing, but didn’t want to risk unveiling his hiding spot. 

Somehow, Kurt had found himself in the back of the auditorium again, sitting in one of the foldup seats, watching the Glee club perform Rocky Horror. He knew that it was a private show, so really he shouldn’t have been watching it, but after watching Blaine’s rendition of _‘Sweet Transvestite’_ , he was more than a little tempted. And of course, it was amazing. Kurt found it a shame that it couldn’t have been performed to the public eye, but for understandable reasons, it was more than a little controversial.

“I can't believe we practiced all that for nothing.” Tina said as the group milled about the stage aimlessly, talking amongst themselves. 

“Not for nothing, we had fun.” Everyone groaned at Mercedes, and Kurt took it as his cue to leave. He gathered his bag and got to his feet, making his way to the door, before something Puck said stopped Kurt in his tracks.

“Rocking those fishnets, Blaine. Wonder what _Mr. Dreamboat_ thinks of those, I mean, is he into that?” Kurt turned swiftly to look at the stage, seeing Blaine's snarky expression. Kurt couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but Blaine had a new found confidence when wearing the Frank-N-Furter costume, he looked happy.

“Shut it, Puckerman. And I’ll have you know, he likes them.” Blaine countered back, receiving wolf whistles and catcalls from the group around him. He smacked Puck on the arm, laughing. Kurt stood for a moment and wondered who Noah had been referring to when he said, ‘Mr. Dreamboat’. 

_Had Kurt misheard? Was it an inside joke he wouldn’t understand? Or… perhaps, it was him?_

_No._ Kurt didn’t want to flatter himself. He knew Blaine liked him, but the boy surely wasn’t going around the Glee club and calling him ‘Mr. Dreamboat.’ Blaine had far more dignity. 

But perhaps it wasn’t him, maybe Kurt had been making Blaine’s crush up in his head, maybe Blaine was just a normally affectionate person - maybe Blaine had a boyfriend?

“Have you spoken to Kurt at all?” Quinn’s voice broke Kurt from his wandering thoughts, the mention of his name caused his attention span to increase. That was probably a bad thing. Kurt just felt that as much as he loved his new friends at McKinley, he couldn’t help but worry that he meant less to them than they did to him. He had never had _true_ friends before, he didn’t want to blow it. 

“Yeah, why?” Santana replied. 

“We just haven’t spoken for a few days, ever since I brought up the idea of him playing Riff Raff he’s been avoiding me.” Kurt knew why he hadn’t spoken to her. Ever since the prospect of him joining Glee had entered his mind, he had been subconsciously lost in his own world, and perhaps neglected the girls a bit. Kurt felt bad about it, but honestly, Kurt had accidentally been lost in daydreams about him singing with the club, not a care in the world what his peers thought - although he would never admit that to them.

“I doubt that’s it… you know, I think he might join Glee.” Mercedes said from where she was standing.

“Really?” Blaine piped up, his voice going quite noticeably a few octaves higher. 

“Yeah, he seemed kinda interested when I brought it up.”

“Why are y’all so desperate for this Kurt guy to join?” Sam said offhandedly, getting a far larger reaction from the club than intended. They all turned to look at him in one swift movement, and Kurt found it much like a cartoon. “Sorry, but what’s the big deal?” Everyone went silent, and Kurt looked down at his shoes anxiously from his place in the shadows, feeling as though this was a conversation he definitely was not meant to be hearing. 

“Because he’s a great singer and we need that kind of star power to… t-to win Nationals this year.” Rachel spoke up, receiving nods from the rest of the group. Kurt blushed slightly, rather enjoying the compliment. 

“But, let’s be real, say we did get him to join, what would he do other than sway in the background? Would it really change the performance _that_ much?” They’re silent again, all looking at each other quietly. Kurt leant up against the wall, feeling as though he wanted his feet to move so he could leave the auditorium, as he was worried he was about to hear something he definitely didn’t want to hear, but his brain would not connect to his limbs. 

“Guys, stop. This isn’t about winning.” Blaine spoke up, and Kurt felt a warm feeling in his heart that the boy stood up for him. “Remember when he came to perform the other week? This isn’t about _us_ needing _him_ to go to Nationals this year, _he_ needs the music.” Kurt smiled softly to himself. 

“Yeah, but if he found it _that_ therapeutic, wouldn’t he have joined already?” Some people hummed in agreement.

“He has a nice voice, don’t get me wrong, but I bet he wouldn’t be able to pull off a big, flashy number.” That definitely hurt Kurt more than it should have. 

“Besides, if he’s too scared to even join Glee then how do we expect him to perform with us at assemblies, or at a competition at all.” Kurt stared at the scene before him unfolding, and flitted his eyes over to Mr Schue, who was packing up his things, glancing up at the group on the stage as they continued to speak. Kurt hated how the teacher only interfered in situations when they reached boiling point. You should put an outburst out when it is only ashes on a fire, don’t wait until it’s roaring and uncontrollable. 

Still, Kurt thought over Sam’s words, and before he knew it, he stepped up from his space in the back of the auditorium so that he was visible. The group turned to him one by one. 

“Mr Schue I would like to audition for Glee club.” 

_***_

Blaine felt like an ice cube was slowly slipping down his throat, making his way through his lungs so each breath was far more effort than it was worth, and then pooling in his stomach uncomfortably. 

_Kurt had heard them._ He must have done, he announced his decision to audition just as the words from the club became extremely hurtful. Blaine felt guilty, Kurt should never have heard that. Any of that. 

“Do- do you think he…” Tina started, before trailing off, as every one knew what she meant. They all hummed I guilt, lips pressed in thin lines and heads bowed in guilt. 

No one said anything, most of them turned to Mr Schue, who was now discussing with Kurt quietly. The teacher seemed to be laughing at something, as was Kurt. They spoke for a few moments more, before Schue gestured toward the stage, and Kurt thanked him quietly. 

The club filed off, none of them daring to look Kurt in the eye, except Blaine. He instead hurried over to Kurt, just as the boy was making his way up the small steps.

“Hey… Hey, Kurt.” Blaine reached out and rested his hand on Kurt’s arm, signaling him to stop. Kurt obliged, turning to Blaine with a smile on his face, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Now he was there, Blaine didn’t quite know what to say, he just started talking. “I-I’m sorry that you had to hear the club talking about you like that, I hope you don’t think any less of us.”

“It’s fine.” Kurt mustered, pulling his smile out wider. 

“No, it’s not.”

“Really, I’m okay.” Kurt began to continue his way up the steps, when Blaine tugged on his arm again, bringing the boy to a halt. 

“Just-” He hesitates. “Just don’t feel like you have to prove anything, only audition if you want to.” Apparently Blaine had struck a chord in Kurt, because the boy’s fake smile faltered slightly, and he dropped his gaze in thought. Blaine felt there was no need to say anything more, so squeezed his arm in support, before making his way back to his seat.

“Hello New Directions, Mr Schue.” Kurt said as he took centre stage, nodding towards the teacher. “After a lot of debating, I have come to the conclusion that I _would_ in fact like to audition for you. And, contrary to some opinions, I believe that I do have the balls to be in your little club.” Blaine felt the air tense around him, and everyone shared guilty glances. Apparently, Kurt realised he was speaking rather patronisingly, because his features soften as his body relaxed. He exhaled deeply, closing his eyes, before opening them again to make direct eye contact with the group. 

“ _Look_ , the truth is… I love to sing, and Blaine’s right, I find performing a gateway.” Blaine shifted in his seat. “I didn’t want to join initially because, to be perfectly candid, I was worried I was going to damage the little reputation I held. But, I think in ten years I would look back on my High school experience, and… _kick_ myself for not giving it a go. So, if you’ll let me, I’d like to show you what I can do.” Mr Schue nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. 

“Whenever you’re ready, Kurt.”

“Thank you.” Blaine watched as Kurt made his way over to the band, handing them pieces of paper with notes and lyrics drawn on them. Blaine was surprised Kurt simply _carried_ around sheet music, but perhaps this audition was not as spur of the moment as he thought. Maybe Kurt has been preparing for a while. 

Alas, the boy made his way to the back of the stage, as a familiar tune began to play from the speakers, and Blaine grinned to himself at Kurt’s choice of song. 

_Coming home used to feel so good_

_I'm a stranger now in my neighborhood_

_I've seen the world at a faster place_

_And I'm coming now from a different place_

_‘Not The Boy Next Door’_ was a stroke of genius. It fitted Kurt so well. As the song progressed and he reached the end of the first chorus, Santana, Brittany and Quinn got up from their seats and clambered onto the stage. Kurt looked shocked at first, but walked over to help pull them up. He showed them some of the choreography as he sung, and they copied him, going along with the song and backing him up with vocals.

_I am not the boy next door_

_I don't belong like I did before_

_Nothing ever seems like it used to be_

_You can have your dreams but you can't have me_

_Oh, I can't go back there anymore_

_'Cause I am not the boy next door_

_Okay_ , Kurt has definitely been preparing for a while. He danced with practiced leaps and spins, jumping onto the piano and dancing. Santana followed him when he did, pointing at him as he sang the line _'I am not'._

It all worked flawlessly, and as Kurt nailed the earth shattering note as the crescendo rang out, the club were already on their feet clapping. The routine looked as though it had been in the works for months, when Blaine was sure it had only been a couple days, and to the girls, last minute. 

“Wow!” Mr Schue proclaimed, approaching the stage. Kurt stood, he looked out of breath, but so happy. Blaine had never seen the boy so thrilled, not even after he won the game winning kick for the Titans last weekend. He seemed exasperated, and sweat caused his black shirt to stick to him, but apparently he couldn’t care less. Blaine watched with soft features as Kurt’s head tilted towards the stage lights, his smile finally reaching his eyes. It was the prettiest thing Blaine had seen in a while.

“Welcome to the Glee Club!” Mr Schue announced and everyone cheered. Past feelings of guilt caused by Kurt’s overhearing of their conversation gone, and now they were only thrilled to have found a new, extremely talented member. Blaine laughed as Brittany leapt forward and proceeded to envelope Kurt in a bone crushing hug, causing the boy to stumble backwards, but he only laughed and squeezed the girl back in return, jumping up and down with her. 

Soon enough, Santana and Quinn joined in on the hug too, as the club laughed.

“I can’t breathe!” Kurt complained against the girls, although he smiled so broadly it was hard to believe he wasn’t enjoying it. Blaine laughed, watching as Brittany only held him tighter and Santana ruffled his hair, an action that caused Kurt to glare at her in dismay. But fighting against the loud cheers of the Glee club and the hug he was currently engulfed in, Kurt looked over the top of Quinn’s head, and caught Blaine’s eye. This time, Blaine didn’t look away shyly or anxiously blush, he instead nodded his head and gave Kurt a thumbs up. The boy smiled, and nodded back at him, as if in reassurance that despite hearing the group's conversation earlier, he was good. 

_They_ were good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Writing that chapter took so much brain power, I sat down for a good few hours to get through this thing. I wanted to get it done before life got to busy again, so hopefully I'll be able to get one or two more chapters out before I have to go back to school next week, but don't hold me to that;)


	14. Mash-Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, and not the good kind. Basically, it's not very good. The quality of writing is... inconsistent to say the least. But anyway, I'm gonna try my best to get one more chapter up before school starts again *cries*. Enjoy whatever this is I guess :)))

From a young age Blaine knew that his family wasn’t perfect. He never lay in bed and truly thought about it like he did now, but he knew subconsciously that it wasn’t the same as others. He used to go to his friend’s houses, and their parents would be so welcoming and kind, it made Blaine feel wanted. But back home, he felt cold and distant from his family. There were days where he would hide in his room to avoid the shouting, or just head out for walks, some days he’d go to Finn’s house to escape it all. 

But despite his efforts to detach himself from the arguing, it was still the same. Dad would get stressed, his stress response was dis-regulated, he would be spiralling. Mom's buffering ability was overrun, and then she was triggered too. And then came the screaming. And Blaine wasn’t sure, but whenever he sat in his room with a pillow hugged to his chest while listening to their fights, he always felt like at the end of it all,  _ his _ name was brought up in the conversation. 

“Don’t do this while Blaine is in the house, Jack!” Pam Anderson would shout, causing Blaine’s heart to pound harder. And of course, the mention of his name would lead to talk of his sexuality, and if Blaine was ever unfortunate enough to walk through the door mid argument, he would be called into the room and eventually dragged into it. Just that summer, there had been an incident where his Cheerios uniform was torn to shreds by his father, and he was forced to ask Coach Sylvester for a new one.

But Blaine had been in denial that there was anything wrong with his family to other people. Sure he had insinuated to Santana, Tina and Finn that there was perhaps a problem, but he’d brush it off. 

“It’s not as bad as other people have it… I’m fine.” He would say, desperate for them to drop the topic. But there were days where Blaine would often recall coming out to his family. 

His mother had been accepting, just as Blaine knew she would be, as was his brother, Cooper. But when Blaine came to telling his Dad, it had not been as smooth sailing. He remembered it so clearly, he had gone in with so much confidence after the success of telling the rest of his family, but his hope had been shattered the moment he saw his father’s face fall when he told him those two words. There was a cold silence, a silence chilled Blaine to the bone, and then the inevitable talk of how  _ ‘it’s just a phase’. _

That was a phrase commonly used in the household whenever signs of his sexuality began showing through, like when they watched a movie all together and Blaine found himself internally lusting over the handsome male lead. Blaine wasn’t subtle about it either, he was sure he wasn’t, because his father clocked onto it and would ask him out of the room for a moment to speak to Pam in private. That was where Blaine would listen in, and the talk of his sexuality was up in the air once again.

But the topic was never brought up around him. His Dad ignored the fact in his son’s presence, he pretended it was never said. Did he hope that pushing off the inevitable conversation where Blaine would actually get a boyfriend would somehow help in any way? Blaine didn’t know. 

So whenever the fights started up again, he would call one of his friends, just to talk to them, and they would allow him their houses as a place of refuge once in a while. 

But Blaine hated having to use his friends like that to be free from his own home, it made him feel weak. Which he wasn’t, he wasn’t weak, he knew that. It just felt that way whenever a mattress was set up on the floor of one of their houses, and he slept there for the night instead of his own bed. 

It got to the point where Blaine began to get angry, it was anger that boiled up inside of him so furiously. It affected his friendships, his personal well-being, and now his school work. It infuriated him that his teachers didn’t understand, it was not their place to understand,  _ hell _ , it wasn’t like Blaine wanted them to know. But there were some days where homework slipped his mind, and of course it wasn’t his fault, but that’s what  _ they _ made it feel like.

Blaine rested his head in his hands. The teacher had been droning on about atoms, nucleus this, electron that, then a question directed right at him. Blaine raised his red laced eyeballs from the graffiti on the desk to look at the bespectacled man in the tweedy suit. “Tut tut, no studying, Blaine?”

_ Study? Where? When? _ How could he possibly study against the shouts of his parents downstairs. He couldn’t, it was impossible. His fingers curled tightly around his pencil, as he refrained the urge to reach out and slap _ Mr. Davidson _ right across the face. What an improvement that would be. But instead, Blaine just replied as if his jaw were wired shut.

“No, sir.”

***

Kurt skipped his way down the hall to his first official Glee club meeting. He had been buzzing all weekend about his first official rehearsal, but wouldn’t let it show  _ just _ how excited he was to his peers. Kurt felt as though nothing could inhibit his bad mood, which is why the last thing he expected was for two rough hands to stick into his shoulder, shoving him harshly, causing a gush of pain to jolt throughout his body. Kurt’s stomach ached, his arms lost tension and his legs began to weaken. He dropped to the ground, hitting his head against the lockers, hard. 

A slither of pain rickochet up his spinal cord, he bit down on his tongue so harshly to swallow his gasp that Kurt tasted a droplet of blood. He looked up through bleary eyes, to see none other than Dave Karofsky stood, towering over him, apparently pleased with himself. The bully’s bottom lip curled into a snarl, and his eyes glared daggers. Kurt tried to articulate some sort of weak response, but he was too shocked to say anything, and by the time had come up with an adequate retort, the boy had stalked off. 

Karofsky had teased Kurt before, name calling and picking on him mostly, and sure it had all escalated a bit at Santana’s party, but he had been in a drunken state then. But now, he had made the decision to shove him in this situation, and Kurt hadn’t even done anything to trigger any anger. 

Feeling scared as he clambered to his feet, Kurt re-adjusted the thoughts in his head, trying to recall his original destination.  _ The choir room. That was it.  _

So as he walked into Glee a few moments later and Quinn came running up to him, bouncing with excitement while spitballing duet ideas for the two of them, Kurt chose to stay as nonchalant as possible, desperate to not let his shock of Karosky’s physical act of violence be any kind of a factor. He wanted to enjoy his first Glee club session without trouble.

Kurt decided to himself as he took a seat beside Brittany to not overthink Karofsky too much, to deal with it all later. He was shocked,  _ yes _ . Scared,  _ definitely _ . But he tried not to let it show as Mr Schue walked in, a piece of paper in his hand. 

“I hold in my hand, ladies and gentlemen, our competition for Sectionals next month!” The room cheered and whooped, chatting amongst each other for a short period of time, before Schue continued. “First, the a capella choir from the all-boys private school in Westerville, the Dalton Academy Warblers.” Kurt scoffed.  _ Warblers _ . Ridiculous name, he could never imagine himself going to a Private school, or being in a group named the Warblers, God forbid - who decided on that?

I mean, he hated the idea of having to bob along in the background, singing his inane  _ ‘ooh’s’ _ and  _ ‘ah’s’ _ while some handsome lead vocalist belted out a trashy Katy Perry showstopper. Which, when thinking about it, was a lot like what Blaine did when they first met. Perhaps Blaine would be a good fit with these  _ Warblers _ ? Kurt laughed, the thought of Blaine all dressed up in some preppy private school uniform was actually rather comical.

“...The Hipsters, a first-year club from the Warren Township Continuing Education Programme. Now, they are a glee club composed entirely of elderly people.” Kurt intentionally zoned Mr Schue out, which probably wasn’t a good first impression, but he didn’t really care about these so called  _ Warblers _ or  _ The Hipsters _ , whatever those names were. 

Instead, he turned in his chair slightly and surveyed the room, studying the exasperated and excited expressions of the kids around him. As he did so, Kurt caught Blaine’s eye, and the boy smiled at him warmly. Kurt did so back, lifting his hand slightly to wave, giving him a nervous grimace. Blaine laughed, shaking his head, looking down with his lips pressed together, yet smiling. Kurt watched him for a moment, as Blaine suddenly pulled out a pen from his bag and a piece of paper, starting to write. Kurt cocked his head to the side, assuming Blaine was writing down what Mr Schue was saying, which seemed odd to him, but he didn’t really know how Glee club worked. 

But a moment later, Kurt received a tap on the shoulder, and he turned to see Santana holding out a folded-up slip of paper for him. Kurt, inquisitive, took it and opened it carefully, examining it’s crisp form. Inside, was a sentence drawn out in scrawly handwriting, stained by a blotched pen. 

_ This is boring - what kind of name is The Warblers anyway? _

_ -B _

Kurt covered a sudden giggle with his hand, turning to look at Blaine with a smirk, but the boy pretended not to notice, training his eyes on the teacher. However, by now Kurt could tell when Blaine really was focusing and when he was faking it, and he definitely wasn’t interested in Mr Schue’s in depth competition strategy he was explaining. The boy’s eyes flitted back and forth comically, and he was clearing biting back a smile. 

Kurt turned to the slip of paper, and began to write out his reply, before passing it back to Santana to hand to Blaine. 

_ I know right, and The Hipsters? Seriously? Though it’s not as bad as New Directions… _

Kurt heard Blaine’s laugh from the back of the room, and refrained from turning to look. He knew that passing notes with someone was rather flirty, but it didn’t have to be. Passing notes was something that friends do as well. Which is why, when Kurt felt another tap on his shoulder, he turned and accepted the slip of paper, opening it up eagerly. 

_ Nude Erections… I still can’t get over how funny that is!! _

He began to scribble. 

_ I know, I’m comedy gold. _

Kurt recalled his and Blaine’s first meeting, where he had brought up the fact that the name  _ ‘New Directions’ _ could definitely be interpreted as something different… and he supposed it had become an inside joke between them now. 

_ Don’t tell Schue that, he was so proud when he came up with the name last year. _

_ Don’t you worry, Anderson… I’ll keep it quiet. _

“I want to make this week our second annual Boys Versus Girls tournament.” Kurt looked up at Mr Schue, who he only just realised was continuing to talk. “Like last year, you guys will be performing mash-ups.” Kurt immediately pulled out a pen and began to write. 

_ Mash-up competition? Sounds interesting… _

Kurt caught Blaine smirking slightly, before the paper was slipped onto his lap once more. 

_ Don’t get too excited, last year we got high on Vitamin D cause of it. _

Kurt gasped rather audibly, drawing a lot of attention to himself, but ignoring it. He spun around to look at Blaine, who was smiling at Kurt, shrugging nonchalantly. Kurt raised an eyebrow at him, and Blaine put a hand to his mouth, covering his grin.

_ Ok, you can’t just say stuff like that and not explain. _

Kurt passed the note back to Santana behind him, and she rolled her eyes with a smirk, handing it to Tina, who passed it to Finn, who reached out to give it to Blaine. Blaine held his hand out to accept the note, but it was suddenly snatched from Finn’s grasp by Puck, who was sitting in the chair in front of Blaine. 

Kurt eyeballed Puck, shifting in his seat and shooting him irritated daggers, Blaine doing the same. Puck shrugged and glanced at the two of them, one at a time, before patronisingly opening the slip of paper. He looked down at the writing scrawled across the note, reading their conversation.

His eyes scanned over it, and Kurt watched a small smile grow on the boy’s face. Mr Schue was still talking, and apparently choosing not to notice the situation going on in front of him, Kurt was glad for that. But then, Puck pulled out a pen from his pocket and began to write. Kurt and Blaine shared a look, Blaine’s eyebrows furrowed and his jaw set firm, but a smile twitched at his lips. 

A moment later, once Schue had successfully turned his back from them, Kurt hurried forward and snatched the note from Puck’s hand just as he was mid-sentence, before returning to his seat. He hastily opened the piece of paper, flitting his eyes down to see what Puck had done to it, when he noticed sloppy handwriting scrawled out in the corner of the sheet, with little hearts drawn around it. 

_ Aw, y’all are so cute :) _

***

It kept happening. Kurt hadn’t worried about it too much when it first started, but Karofsky began to make it a regular thing. It happened all throughout the week, and each time hurt more than the last. Kurt knew that was probably not a good thing, shouldn’t being shoved into the lockers regularly make it hurt less? But Karofsky probably wanted it to be more painful with each blow.

“Are you alright, Kurt? You seem kinda distracted.” Santana said as they both walked down the hall to Glee that Thursday morning. 

“Oh. Right… yeah.” He answered lamely, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to fight the wince as he felt a bruise beginning to form there.

“Sure?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” He snapped, before quickly shooting her an apologetic look; his tone had been harsh, he knew it the moment the words left his lips. “Your mash-up was really good.” Kurt stated, desperate for a change of subject. Luckily, Santana quickly lept into an in depth explanation of their performance at its mention, speaking in irritation at Rachel Berry’s need for a solo in everything, and Kurt had to agree. He found the girl insufferable. 

However, despite his similar infuration with the selfish diva, he found himself drifting into his own world. The boys didn’t have any ideas for what they were going to do for their mash-up, and after watching the girls rendition of  _ ‘Start Me Up/ Livin’ On a Prayer’,  _ he felt intimidated. The rest of his group didn’t share his similar ambition to win, and he hadn’t been in the group long enough to hold any kind of power over them, so Kurt felt as though he couldn’t take control. 

Blaine, however, had done well in organising some sort of order between them all, and they had decided on their song choice -  _ ‘Stop! In the Name of Love/ Free Your Mind’ _

Kurt was happy with that, and thanked Blaine with a nod for his efforts. He hoped that somehow the group could pull together something, and perhaps win against the girls, but that felt unlikely. 

“So what are you boys doing?” Santana finished, causing Kurt to break his gaze from his black stare at the floor to face her.

“Ah, Miss Lopez. That is for me to know and for you...” He tapped her nose playfully, and she shrugged him off, feigning annoyance. “... to find out.” Santana shrugged. 

“Keep all the secrets you want, Hummel. We’re winning..” She said, turning away from him to make her way down the hall to Cheerios practice. “And we didn’t even use any drugs this time.” Santana called over her shoulder as she retreated, Kurt looked to her.

“I still want to know what happened there!” He shouted back, wondering whatever she meant. Blaine had mentioned it in his note, but Puck had intercepted it before he could find out the whole story of that incident. He reminded himself to ask in future. 

So as Kurt tightened his satchel and walked down the hall, he felt himself begin to walk with longer strides, head high and looking down his nose. Confidence. That’s what it was.

It was the confidence of the phoenix, of one who has suffered into ash, reborn in the flames of hot pain and commanded to sing, literally. Hope beads his skin like dew on spring grass. Kurt could feel it radiating in to soothe his blood. He didn’t know for sure that today would be better than the day before, but Glee club had given him hope, not the kind of hope that he perhaps thought he could win Nationals… or Sectionals, or whatever it was, but personal hope. 

When Kurt had left his last school, he had a feeling in him that he could only pinpoint now, he felt like he had run away. He hadn’t stood and faced his bullies, but being in Football with the popular guys  _ and _ Glee club gave him hope, Kurt felt like he hadn’t run. Now he was looking at them all with a level head and a confident glare. 

Kurt felt optimistic, and that's the best he could say.

***   
Blaine stood anxiously, adjusting the cuffs of his blue jacket and taking deep breaths. The guys of Glee had been stupid, and thoroughly upset Coach Beiste, a concept Blaine didn’t understand, because she was such a sweet heart. But hearing the story in full, it sounded as though it was Mr Schue’s fault really, although most things were. Nevertheless, he waited trepidatiously to perform the football Coach as an apology, and it was now only the boys in the room, preparing. 

As Blaine did his vocal exercises, he couldn’t help his eyes from drifting over to Kurt, who like him, was in his tailored blue suit and black bowtie. He looked good, and Blaine found a soft smile twitching at his lips. Kurt looked far too cute in that outfit, and despite the fact they all wore matching blazers, he carried it differently. But the more Blaine obsessively gazed at the boy, the more he began to notice the way Kurt kept feeling the back of his neck and contorting his facial features. He looked slightly in pain, and Blaine had to admit he was worried.

“Hey, Kurt.” Before Blaine knew it, he found his feet moving and he was approaching the boy.

“Oh, hi.” Kurt said, removing his hand from his neck swiftly and looking at him with a smile, though Blaine noticed the smile didn’t quite meet his eyes. 

“Are you okay?” He asked carefully.

“Yeah, yeah… I’m good.” He wasn’t good, Blaine could tell, but he didn’t push.

“Are you excited for your first  _ official _ Glee number?” Blaine changed the subject, bouncing slightly. 

“Well, considering the circumstances with Coach Beiste, I probably shouldn’t be.” Blaine nodded knowingly. “But I’m looking forward to it, I think we pulled a good mash-up together.” 

“I know! I'm really excited.” Blaine said excitedly, beaming from ear to ear, and Kurt raised his eyebrow at his optimism. “Sorry, I get really excited for these kinds of performances.”

“No, no. I like your enthusiasm, you wear it well.” Kurt said, and Blaine felt his heart swell with happiness and his stomach flip. His cheeks became a color to rival the rose-pink hue of the summer sky, and shone through the gaps of his fingers, as he brought his hand up to try and cover his giddy glow. 

He lifted his eyes to meet Kurt’s, hoping that perhaps they would already be trained on him, but the boy's gorgeous gaze had lowered down to his neck, where his black knot was located. 

“Oh, you’re bowtie is crooked.” Kurt said on cue, and Blaine looked down in some lame attempt to see what the boy meant. He reached up first to straighten it, before Kurt giggled softly, causing Blaine’s heart to flutter, and stepped forwards. He first took Blaine’s hands in his own and lowered them away from the tie, his lips turned up calmly. Blaine’s breath hitched in his throat at the sensation that swept through his body. 

“Oh...” Blaine whispered lamely, as Kurt’s practiced hands began to work expertly against his neck. His gentle fingers grazed against his skin, and Blaine resisted a shudder. Kurt, who continued to let his fingers move, fingers that rested against Blaine's Adam's apple momentarily as he finished his work, exhaled. The boy’s breath was the sweet, gentle aroma that wafted through the cool autumn air. Blaine’s stomach clenched with hunger as he felt a moan begin to form in the back of his throat. But he focused on the other smells in the air, like the displeasing sweat of teenage boy’s, which held no competition to Kurt’s rosey perfume he so naturally held. 

Then, Blaine was relieved of his pointedly gazing anywhere but Kurt’s eyes, in fear he may say or do something he would regret, as the boy stepped back again. He put his arms to his sides decidedly, indicating he was finished. 

“Thanks.” Blaine choked out, his voice cracking slightly as he recovered.

“No problem.” Kurt said, reaching out and squeezing Blaine’s shoulder calmly. Usually, this would send Blaine into a spiral of giddy enlightenment, but compared to the arousing feeling of Kurt’s gentle breath against his skin, it was nothing.

But now Kurt was gone from his sight, and Blaine was left, stood numbly, biting his lip. His chest was rising and falling as if he had run a mile, and he kept licking his lips, as they seemed to go dry every few seconds. Beautiful glasz eyes gazing into his own, and soft breath against his chin haunted his mind, as if he could still feel it.

“Impressive, Anderson.” Puck’s voice caused Blaine freedom from his thoughts as he looked up at the boy, eyebrow raised.

“What?” He questioned, thought Blaine knew exactly what Puck was insinuating. 

“You are head over heels and it’s hilarious.” Blaine scoffed. 

“I am not.”  _ He was. _

“Yes you are, why don’t you ask the dude out?”

“Because-” Blaine suddenly noticed the pitch at which he was speaking, and jumped slightly at his own voice, glancing around anxiously, scanning for Kurt, who was now talking to Finn happily. He was laughing at something the gangly boy was saying, stifling his laugh with his hand. Kurt looked cute. “Because…” Blaine lowered his voice. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“Your friendship?” Blaine nodded. “How long have you known this guy, a few weeks?” Blaine shifted his stand uncomfortably, folding his arms, not knowing what Puck was getting it. 

“What are you-?”

“There isn’t any friendship there to ruin.” Blaine was taken aback, he flinched away from the boy in front of him, features scrunched up. 

“Wha- Puck, I’ll have you know that Kurt and I are very good friends.”

“Yeah, but he’s closer with Quinn or- or, Mercedes.” Blaine looked down at the ground, deep in thought as Puck continued to talk. “Look, dude, it’s your life. All I’m saying is, if you asked him out and he said no… would that really affect anything that much? I mean, you’ve known each other for a couple weeks, you could rebuild that friendship really easily.” Blaine furrowed his brow, taking a seat on one of the choir rooms chairs, Puck following close behind. He stared at the ground, trying to comprehend the boy's logic. Blaine thought for a moment, debating the prospect in his head of shooting his shot and asking Kurt on a simple date, but it seemed foreign and impossible for him. 

“I don’t know, Puck. I- maybe I should wait.”

“Dude, if you wait any longer, he’s either gonna be taken, or you two will have built such a strong friendship that if he breaks your heart and says no, it’s going to be impossible to rebuild that.” Puck finished, his gaze softening on Blaine and a small smile twitching at his lips. Blaine slumped deeper into his seater, his eyes trained on the ground, but his mind racing. Puck patted Blaine on the back and rose from his seat, going to join Mike in his conversation with Artie, leaving his bemused friend to ponder.

Blaine was surprised, Puck’s relationship advice had been…  _ good,  _ somewhat. And perhaps he was right, to tell Kurt his feelings before it was too late. And despite the boys insightful thought into his and Kurt’s friendship, which Blaine was rather impressed by, one sentence Puck had said rang around his brain.

_ ‘He’s gonna be taken.’ _

The thought of Kurt kissing some stranger caused Blaine's insides to coil. He didn’t like it. He wanted Kurt to be him. And Blaine didn’t know whether the other boy even wanted the same. Blaine didn’t want to ruin his friendship with Kurt. He couldn't. 

_No_. 

Blaine wouldn’t say anything unless he was one hundred percent sure that there might be similar feelings of attraction there. But Puck's words did scare Blaine slightly. One of his biggest fears was someone meaning more to him than he meant to them, and he didn't want that to be the case with Kurt. Not even in the romantic sense, Kurt was just someone Blaine found inspiring, someone he looked up to. The footballer set a standard that Blaine wanted to fulfil, and he didn't want to risk losing that over a _crush_. Because that's all it was, a crush. 

So Blaine made his decision. If the moment came up, and he was that Kurt shared his attraction, Blaine would take his chance. If not, he would just stay silent. Kurt was to important, to him anyway, to lose. It wasn't worth the risk. It just wasn't. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's pretend this chapter never happened, it's not good. The next one will be better, I promise!! Y'all are so good for putting up with me and my inconsistent writing ahh.


	15. Sectionals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, sorry it's taken me so long to upload this chapter, i've had a huge exam week so my brain has just been in overdrive 24/7, but I think I did relatively well aha!! everything is back to normal (as normal as it can be) school wise so I'll be uploading the next chapter asap. thanks for all your support, means the absolute world!! xoxo

“So do you like the substitute?” Quinn's lilting voice caused Kurt to raise his head from the fabric that had been resting inches from his nose for the better part of an hour. He took a moment to look at her, before arching his back once more and continuing his tedious stitching. Himself, Santana, Brittany and Quinn had been in a mindless silence since they had started work on designing and creating costumes for Sectionals, and only now had one of them spoken up. It was a nice distraction.

“I love her, she’s so much fun.” The girls hummed in agreement, smiling to themselves softly, Kurt did the same. As they continued to work in comfortable yet bored silence, to entertain his mind in whatever way possible, Kurt recalled singing  _ ‘Forget You’ _ with the new substitute teacher, Holly Holiday. It had been the most fun that he had had since he and Blaine had performed ‘ _ American Boy' during _ the duet competition.

The group had been given such an opportunity due to Mr Schue being sick, and despite the fact he was probably weak and exhausted from illness, that didn’t stop the teacher from emailing Quinn and asking her to painstakingly design and sew costumes for Sectionals. Of course, she had enlisted the help of Kurt, and invited Santana and Brittany along for some extra help. And here they were, Tuesday night and at seventeen years of age, sitting in dead silence in Kurt’s basement while sewing below average dresses for their show choir competition. And after it taking them an  _ hour  _ to make two of those costumes, they settled on ordering cheap maroon shirts online for the boys outfits. That was all they could muster. 

“Shit.” Kurt looked over at Santana suddenly, who was nursing the tip of her index finger with a pained look on her face. Kurt saw red blood trickling down her hand. “Pricked myself.” She stated to them, sucking at it before examining the injury once more. 

“That’s the fifth time that’s happened, I think the universe is telling us to take a break.” Said Quinn, placing down her needle effectively. Kurt shook his head. 

“No, no. We’ve been at this for two hours and we have made a total of three dresses. We need six.” Kurt said, sticking his needle into the thick fabric once more and continuing his work. 

“Whatever, I’m getting soda. Quinn, you wanna come?” Santana announced, getting to her feet and beginning to ascend the stairs from Kurt’s basement. Quinn did the same, following her up. 

“Help yourself.” Kurt called sarcastically as they went. He vaguely heard a snappy retort from Santana’s end, but didn’t respond. He actually liked how comfortable the girls were to go and get a drink from his house. And Burt really liked them as well, though Kurt knew that his dad was just grateful that he had found real friends. 

“How are you getting on, Britt?” Kurt said to rend the silence. Brittany looked up from her computer, as she supposedly googled some basic maroon shirts for the boys to wear. The cheerleader couldn’t muster a task more challenging than that, after she sewed one dress somewhat successfully, but had forgotten to tie the thread to the end of the needle, so effectively did nothing. 

“I’ve found some really good stuff.” Brittany said dreamily, turning the laptop so Kurt could analyse the blaring screen. On it, were grey t-shirts with a steam pressed  _ ‘Maroon 5’  _ logo on the front. 

“Brittany, what is that?” Kurt said, pinching his temple in frustration. 

“Maroon shirts.” She said, gesturing to the screen as it was obvious. “That’s what you said you wanted.” Kurt exhaled. 

“Maroon like the  _ colour _ , Britt. Not the band.” The girl furrowed her brow, looking confused. 

“Maroon is a colour?”

“Oh my God.” And to save him from further irritation with the ditsy blonde, Santana and Quinn walked in holding four cans of soda. He smiled at them thankfully, not realising quite how truly exhausted and sugar deprived he was until now. 

“Diet coke, anyone?” Kurt hummed hungrily, holding his hand out as he accepted a can from Quinn. 

“Thank you, you’re a lifesaver.” He said, taking a sip and sighing in pure refreshment. The beverage trickled down his throat comfortably, and he felt a warm hum from the pit of his stomach as the caffeine began to flood through his system. 

“Well, this may take a while.” Santana gestured to the mess of white and black fabric sprawled out on the table. “We might need it.” Kurt swiveled in his chair, wincing at the aching in his back from being bent over a singular stitch for so long, to read the clock. 

_ 22:53 _

“Urgh.” He rested his head on top of the table, feeling exhausted and hoping the caffeine in his soda would eventually kick in, and they could speed through the rest of the outfits. After a good few moments of silence, where the only sound was their slurps and refreshed 'ahs' to fracture the quiet, Santana spoke up randomly, seemingly in the mood to start a conversation. 

“I had an idea for our Sectionals setlist today.” 

“What song?” Kurt replied to Santana’s question.

“ _ Valerie _ , Amy Winehouse.” Kurt gasped audibly, practically jumping from his seat in excitement. 

“That song is perfect for you ‘Tana!” The girl shrugged playfully at him, a smile twitching at her lips. “You have _ got _ to sing that.” She snorted. 

“I don’t think so, Berry is singing at Sectionals. Like she does everything.” Kurt quirked his brow and twisted his lip to the side, staring down at his lap in irritation. “The most I’ll be doing is background harmonizing.”

“Same here.” Quinn said, sitting back in her chair and looking up at the ceiling. “Although, if I ever got to sing at a competition I would want to do  _ ‘(I've Had) The Time of My Life’. _ ” Kurt nodded again, knowing that particular song would suit her voice very well. 

“I don’t want a solo, I just want to do dance.” Brittany said, pulling a neon pink straw from her pocket and sticking it into her soda, taking a sip. Kurt cocked his head at her, wondering why she carried around spare straws in her pockets, but then again, Brittany S Pierce was full of surprises. 

“What I would give to sing a solo in front of an  _ actual _ audience.” Santana sighed longingly, and though her tone was joking, her expression seemed genuine. An idea went off in Kurt’s head, and he found himself rising from his seat and making his way over to his boombox, a present his father had given him for his birthday that year. 

“What are you doing?”

“I...” He started, pulling out his iPod and looking through his selection of songs, before finding the instrumental version to the one he wanted and selecting it, ready to play. “...Want you to sing, Santana.”

“What?” The latina exclaimed, smirking. 

“I want you to sing. Even if you don’t get to perform at Sectionals, you should get the chance to do the song you want. Plus, I just really want to hear you sing Valerie.” Santana laughed, looking down at her lap sheepishly. Kurt smiled at her, knowing how desperate she truly was to perform. He took Quinn and Brittany by the arm and dragged them to the edge of his bed, forming an audience, as the opening notes began to play. 

At first, Santana got to her feet lazily, shaking her head at them, denying her want to perform. But as she was counted in by Kurt, who had been encouraging her from the start, she opened her mouth to sing, and like he had suspected, she sounded amazing. Kurt couldn’t help but grin. Her voice was so raspy in a chilling way that he had to wonder how she did it, the song suited her so well. The three cheered as she danced across the floor of his bedroom, picking up a hairbrush lying on the side (God knows how that got there) and used it as a microphone, receiving a chuckle from Quinn. 

Her talent truly was a thing to marvel, and he applauded and whooped as she danced. Santana ended up coming over and pulling them all to her feet, swaying along with her happily. By the end of the second verse, Kurt ended up comically ballroom dancing across the floor with Brittany, as Santana held in her hysterics at Quinn’s playful beatboxing, in favour of finishing the song. 

Kurt knew that the girl had a good voice, but not quite that upbeat and frankly showstopping as it was. It was definitely a crowd pleaser. And Kurt couldn’t help but decide to himself as her hauntingly gorgeous mezzo-soprano sang out the last few lyrics, that he was getting her that solo at Sectionals.

***   


“I don’t get it Mr Schue, I know I’m new to the Club, but shouldn’t other people be given the chance at a solo?” Kurt said to the teacher, ranting and walking at the same time as he followed the man down the hallway. It was the following Friday and Mr Schue was back at school, and even after a successful run with the substitute, Kurt was glad he had returned. Mostly because it meant that he could bring up the prospect of Santana getting a solo at Sectionals. 

“I get where you’re coming from, Kurt… really, I do. But we need to think logically with this, we can’t be taken risks days away from Sectionals. This would require longer thought.”

“Longer thought? Are you serious?” This stopped the teacher in his tracks, and he turned to fully face Kurt. “We haven’t even decided on a setlist yet, and have you ever even thought that maybe a lot of the club are bored of swaying in the background?” 

“Kurt, I appreciate your concern, but you  _ are _ a new member. I can’t just  _ give _ you a solo right off the bat.”

“I’m not talking about  _ me _ , Schue.” Kurt didn’t even bring himself to care that he addressed a teacher without using their full title, and ignored Mr Schue’s taken aback expression. “I’m talking about Santana. She’s crazy talented, as are many members of the Club, I feel like it's unfair to hand everything to Rachel on a silver plate, give someone else a chance." The man seemed in thought, and he was staring at the ground, with the similar ‘thoughtful’ look he wore whenever the club performed. Kurt knew he had achieved the desired effect, so, feeling as though he had succeeded, turned and walked down the hall happily, a light spring in his step.

***   


“Mr Schuester, I have an announcement. I’ve selected the perfect moving ballad for Finn and I to sing to launch our performance at Sectionals.” Blaine couldn’t help but sigh as Rachel stood at the immediate entrance at Mr Schue. He exchanged a look with Tina as they both rolled their eyes, smirking. 

“Me first, Rachel. Ok, two things.” Blaine looked up at Schue, shifting slightly uncomfortably in his Cheerios uniform. It had been getting rather snug recently. “First, our competition at Sectionals are your classic stool choirs. Great voices, but they don’t move. Now if we’re gonna beat them, we need to do what they can’t: dance. Which is why I’ve decided to feature Brittany and Mike’s sweet moves in our performance.” Blaine grinned and looked over at the two, cheering and clapping softly, shooting them a thumbs up. He could tell by the tense air that Rachel wasn’t happy, so looked over at her, expecting a retort coming. It did.

“Wait, they’re gonna dance in front of me while I sing my solo?” 

“You’re not getting a solo for this competition, Rachel.”  _ Okay _ , that was unexpected. Rachel always sang at a competition, that was sort of how it’s always been, but Blaine liked this change. He really liked it, so turned his attention back to the teacher. “I was thinking that the winners of our duets competition would take the leads.” Blaine felt his heart leap inside his chest, recalling a certain picnic date out on the football fields, and turned in his seat to face Kurt, who was sitting with his mouth agape as people around praised him. The boy caught his eye, and they both grinned at each other. 

“Kurt and Blaine? Are you serious?” Rachel exclaimed, and Blaine sighed. He didn’t even need to turn in his chair and look, he just knew that Kurt would be rolling his eyes right about now.

“You know what Rachel, I used to find you only somewhat irritating, but every time you open your damn self-obsessed mouth I feel like reaching over, and shoving a sock in it just to get you to shut up.” Blaine snorted loudly, blushing down at his lap. He loved Kurt's sarcasm.

“Okay, listen. I have talked the talk about everyone here feeling special for over a year now, but, frankly, I haven’t walked the walk. Now, moving on…” 

***

Kurt whipped off his Football jersey easily, leaving his bare torso exposed to the rest of the locker room. He had become far easier in his skin recently, not afraid to allow it to show. He had even taken a shower after practice one particularly hot day, and hadn’t felt self conscious at all. He was confident in his appearance. Football had rather quickly given him a smooth set of abs as well, which he wasn’t shy about showing off whenever the opportunity arose, but of course Kurt would never admit that.

“Hey, dude.” Finn’s voice caused Kurt to look up from the stained ground, and he smiled happily.

“Hey.” He said politely back, shutting his locker and turning his shirt the other way round, ready for him to slip on. “You ok?”

“Mhm.” Kurt quirked his eyebrow, watching as Finn looked slightly lost with what to do with himself for a moment, before he began aimlessly turning the code on one of the red locker doors aimlessly. 

“Finn… uh, that’s not your locker.” Kurt watched the boy dip his head and sigh, looking at him out of the corner of his gaze. He exhaled deeply. 

“Fine. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?” Kurt pulled his shirt on, avoiding his perfectly coiffed hair as much as possible. 

“Ok, honestly… I’m pissed.” Finn spat, tipping his head back against his  _ not-locker _ door. Kurt cocked his head to the side in question. “Me and Rachel aren’t singing at Sectionals this year.” Kurt rolled his eyes and faced the boy, dropping his weight to his right leg so his hip juttted out to the side sassily. 

“For fucks sake, Finn.” Kurt spat, surprising himself, and apparently Finn too. He never swore that decidedly, usually it only slipped out when he was shocked or slightly tipsy, but that was purely intentional. Finn was pissing him off. He continued. "Get over it. Why are you so mad that Blaine and I are singing this year? You and Rachel were literally the leads in Rocky Horror! And when we did mash-ups last week, she sang pretty much the entire of her song and you sang almost all of ours.” Apparently he hadn’t quite hit the sore spot he had been intending to, because Finn looked as though there was something more he wanted to get off his chest.

“No… it’s not just that.” 

“Then what is it?” The boy sighed and slumped against the lockers, arms folded. Kurt remained standing, giving Finn his best _ ‘bitch-please’ _ look. He subsided.

“Did you ever wonder how you and Blaine won the duets competition? Considering pretty much everyone voted for themselves.” Kurt furrowed his brow in thought, because honestly, he hadn’t thought of it. Finn continued. “Well Rachel and I voted for you.” 

“And why would you do that?”

“Because we wanted you to win so that you would join Glee! Rachel said you had the starpower we needed to win Nationals this year, and I’m pissed off that now that Schue has you as a member he’s giving all the solos to you and your talented ass.” Kurt looked down at his shoes, nodding as Finn spoke. He was flattered that Rachel Berry, who he admired as a performer, perceived him as talented off of very little interaction between them. It was nice to know he was appreciated. What he didn’t like, however, was the so-called ‘Finchel’ being self-centred enough that they throw a hissy fit when one of them doesn't get a solo. It was exhausting, and Kurt was just excited to be singing a duet at Sectionals with Blaine. He had already texted him the previous night with a list of duet ideas for them, and after consideration, they decided on  _ ‘Candles’ _ by  _ Hey Monday.  _ But Kurt didn’t want to think about that now, he was already stressed out enough as it was.

“Well, thanks for the pep talk. Feeling really confident.” His tone dripped with sarcasm as he folded his arms and began to walk away. Finn stopped him by taking a step in front of him, which wasn't hard for the tall boy, he had large strides. 

“Dude, wait, wait… stop.” He paused and took a deep breath, Kurt noticed him avoiding his eyes. “I-I’m sorry, you and Blaine are gonna do awesome. I know it.” Kurt felt his features soften, and he smiled warmly at Finn.

“Thanks… I hope so.”

“Well, I know so. You’re gonna kill it.” There was a slight silence as they both just stared at ground shiftily, apparently both mulling over their conversation. In Kurt’s head, he couldn’t help but think how his little outburst was rather brotherly, he had to remind himself that they were _sort_ of like step-brothers, or perhaps soon to be, Kurt didn’t know whether his dad had ever thought on proposing to Carole. It felt nice to know they were comfortable enough with eachother to have an argument to fight and be able to hold a grudge. Kurt didn’t know whether their lives would soon become even more intertwined, but if they did, he felt ready to allow Finn into his life. He felt ready to accept him as a brother. 

***

Blaine sighed deeply, as if he were hoping to exhale his nerves. He currently faced one of the back curtains, his nose inches from it’s material. He could hear the rustling of the audience finding their seats behind it, and he could feel his heart in his chest. The journey to Sectionals had been stressful, he had never seen the team more out of sync, like Schue had said. 

As everyone fought and shouted in the green room, Blaine had instead chosen to sit in the corner with Kurt, discussing their duet and bitching on the ridiculousness of their fellow Glee clubbers. After texting the boy and having a slight back-and-forth on song choice, they had decided on  _ ‘Candles’  _ by  _ Hey Monday _ , a decision Blaine was thrilled upon. 

As well as that, they had rehearsed several times over the week, some at school, some at Kurt’s house. Blaine had chosen not to invite Kurt to his own home, out of fear that his parents may suspect the obvious, that he had a big fat crush on the boy. But snapping Blaine from his thoughts was Kurt, walking toward his side of the curtain calmly, straightening the collar of his maroon button-up. His hair was styled to a tee, and his shirt hugged his body tightly. Blaine rarely got to see Kurt’s arms due to his letterman jacket, and he sometimes forgot how defined they were.

“You ready for this?” Blaine found himself approaching Kurt with purpose, and he only noticed as it happened, how the boy had been wringing sweaty palms together and his features contorted almost painfully. 

“What? Oh, right… yeah.” Kurt stumbled over his words, sparing Blaine a quick glance, but training his eyes back on the curtain. 

“Are you- are you nervous?”

“No, course not.”  _ Ok _ , he said that far too quickly. 

“You are. You’re nervous.” Kurt looked up at the ceiling, before ducking his head, cheeks pink. 

“Fine, believe it or not I may be feeling a bit… worried.”

“Mmm.” Blaine hummed, watching Kurt’s flabbergasted stuttering with soft eyes. 

“And- and I don’t want to mess up, for the- the team.” 

“Who would’ve thought, Kurt Hummel the  _ kicker  _ of the McKinley Titans got nervous about singing?” Kurt reached out and shoved Blaine in the shoulder, apparently hiding a laugh with pressed lips. 

“Shut it, Anderson.” Kurt joked. “You can’t tell me that you  _ don’t _ get nervous.”

“Oh God no, I am absolutely terrified.” Said Blaine in a monotone, and Kurt quirked his brow. “But when we do eventually pull back those curtains and we step out there, all I need to know is that if you’re singing next to me, I’ll be ok.”  _ Oh God _ , Blaine regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth, and he felt his heart thump as Kurt smirked at him knowingly. For about five seconds Blaine had ever so slightly shifted the power dynamic, he had been the one teasing Kurt, but with a slip of the tongue he was back where he started. "B- because you’re such a good singer.” He finished lamely, hoping to recover the situation. 

“Mmm.” Kurt imitated the hum Blaine had made earlier, signalling his regain of his lead. 

“And now, please welcome to the stage… the New Directions!” Blaine jumped as the commentator's voice echoed around him, and he hurriedly turned, heading back to his position behind his curtain. He spared Kurt a glance, and they grimaced at each other, before Kurt took a deep, encouraging breath, and seeped out into the light. Now,  only Blaine was left on the other side of the wall, alone. He listened to Kurt's clean countertenor singing the first verse, and it was then when he recalled the moment he had first laid eyes on the boy. 

Kurt was not usually the kind of guy Blaine would fantasise about, he was so usually into more typically masculine men, and after a fiasco involving a sales clerk at the GAP, Blaine had discovered he had a thing for long hair. But watching Kurt cross the crowded hall a mere few weeks back, Blaine found himself gazing at him, drinking up every last feature hungrily. To the naked eye, some would say Kurt wasn't particularly special looking, you would pass him without another thought, but there was something about Kurt Hummel, a slight confidence and inflated ego, that had Blaine muddling his words and blushing uncontrollably whenever he was around. It was scary. But Blaine forced himself from his mind, as it was his turn to step out and sing. He slid the curtain back and walked into the spotlight, hoping his true nerves weren’t showing.

_ All the games you played _

_ The promises you made _

_ Couldn't finish what you started _

_ Only darkness still remains _

He feared the worst, all eyes on him could manipulate the mind, but as Blaine caught sight of Kurt, stood opposite him in the audience, walking down the aisle similar to how he did, Blaine instantly calmed. As the two continued to sing, walking further and further down the aisls, he couldn’t take his gaze off him. The way Blaine could see the glint in Kurt's eye, a glint that came whenever he performed, from a good distance caused Blaine’s stomach to flip, and apparently Kurt couldn’t take _his_ eyes off of him either. 

_ God he looked good in that shirt.  _

_ Blow the candles out _

_ Looks like a solo tonight _

_ I'm beginning to see the light _

_ Blow the candles out _

_ Looks like a solo tonight _

_ But I think I'll be alright _

They made their way to the front, so that the pair stood facing each other, gazing lovingly as they sang. Blaine thought back to Regionals last year, where Rachel and Finn entered from the back and sang that schmoopy love song to each other and they fell in love,  _ blah blah blah _ . Well, despite how cliche it all felt, Blaine loved the way it seemed so similar.

As the song progressed, Kurt and Blaine made their way to the stage, and other Glee members emerged behind them with backing vocals. Despite the fact that hundreds of people were staring at them with transfixed eyes, Blaine liked how intimate the song felt between him and Kurt. The look they held for each other hadn’t broken since the first verse, Blaine felt liberated. _Warm, light, giddy._ This was different to when they had rehearsed, maybe it was the spotlights or the atmosphere, but it felt far more meaningful than before. 

Kurt was right there, in front of him, singing so beautiful and effortlessly beside him, Blaine wondered how he got so lucky. But that may sound weird, since they weren’t actually dating, Blaine had to remind himself of that sometimes to ensure he wouldn’t do anything stupid, like saying  _ ‘I love you’. _ But he did feel so lucky to simply know Kurt. That really seemed like a pleasure in itself. 

The final notes rang out, and it was only then Blaine realised the audience were on their feet. Kurt tore his eyes away first in favour of the audience, and the smile that lit up his face at the sight of a standing ovation made it all feel worth it. Blaine found himself clapping with them, his gaze fixed on Kurt, as the boy truly had sounded beautiful. But the opening to  _ ‘Valerie’  _ forced their feet to move and dragged them both down from cloud 9, signalling for the pair to get into positions for Santana’s solo, and as they ran to the back of the stage, Blaine felt a firm hand on his side and a sweet breath against his ear.

“You did so great.” Kurt whispered, grinning at Blaine, apparently still elated from the thrill of performing. 

“You too.” Blaine choked out, his eyes full of admiration for the boy. There was something about the way Kurt smiled; the way butterflies seemed to escape from the pit of his stomach and the way the sun had somehow toppled down from the sky and made a home right there in his heart. He had the kind of smile that made you feel happy to be alive and just that little bit more human. Blaine was still recovering from their emotional duet, and he found words starting to tumble from his mouth. “Kurt I-” But as Blaine looked back, Kurt was gone, and busy dancing with Quinn. Kurt didn't spare him a glance as he twirled Quinn around, laughing and smiling twice as wide. Disappointment settled in Blaine's stomach, and he had to force his limbs into movement so they could at least finish the number. 

Thinking on it, Blaine didn’t even know what he was so let down by, he hadn’t even a plan on what he was going to say to Kurt. What? Did he expect to admit his crush to him right there on the stage at Sectionals, during the middle of a number no less? It was stupid. 

Once the song was over and the group had retreated back to dressing rooms, Blaine was in a sulk. He didn’t even know why, there was nothing to be sad about. The team were well on their way to an easy win and he had just sung a romantic duet with Kurt Hummel. What upset him so much? Maybe it was the fact Kurt was standing over there, talking to Brittany and Mercedes, gushing about  _ their _ performances, not his. Blaine supposed he was being selfish, so shook it off, choosing to sit in the same chairs he had sat in with Kurt a mere few hours ago, watching the room around him. 

“Romantic song, Anderson. Do you  _ wuv _ him?” Puckerman teased as he passed, Blaine chose to pay him no attention. 

“Not in the mood, Puckerman.” Was all he managed to mutter, as Puck threw his hands up in defense and walked away. He attempted to drown the whoops and cheers of his fellow classmates out, but failed, only coming away with a slight headache. That was until a certain countertenor came over and took a seat next to him, easing the pain. 

“Hey.” Kurt said, slumping down in the chair opposite him, cracking open a celebratory soda with a satisfying crunch. 

“Hi.” Blaine feebly returned, feeling Kurt’s eyes on him. 

“Uh oh, what’s got you in a mood?” Blaine fought a smirk, training his eyes on the floor. 

“Nothing, it’s fine.”

“No it’s not.”

“It’s fine, Kurt. Drop it.” Blaine snapped suddenly, instantly feeling guilty as he felt Kurt retract from him. 

“Geez, okay. Only trying to help.” Blaine panicked, worrying he had offended Kurt, and sat forward in his seat slightly, holding his hand out to stop him. 

“Hey- hey, woah. I’m sorry, sit back down.” Kurt smiled kindly, an action Blaine was grateful for, and he regained his former position. There was silence for a moment, slightly awkward, but not unbearable. But before it could have an opportunity to become so, Blaine chose to fill it. “You did amazing up there.”

“You weren’t half bad yourself.”

“Thank you.” This time it was Kurt’s turn to fill the silence. 

“We’re pretty good duet partners, huh?”

“You could say that.”

“I’d say so. We should sing together more often.”

“Perhaps.” Blaine chanced a look up at Kurt, not wanting to let on to him how desperately he truly did want to sing with him again, and was thankful that Kurt had been gazing at him too. 

“Kurt! Come here, Brittany’s balancing pretzels on her nose!” Santana shouted over the crowd, and Kurt laughed, ducking his head and peering over his shoulder. He sighed and stood up, placing his soda down on the table. 

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t even a little bit tempted to see that.” Blaine smirked, a small laugh cracking through his lips, as he retreated. “I’ll see you around, Blaine.” Kurt began to swagger away, hips swaying and shoulders pushing back in that sassy Kurt-like manor, when Blaine found himself stopping the boy. 

“Hey, Kurt.” Said Blaine, and Kurt turned back to face him eagerly. 

“Yeah?” Blaine knew what he wanted to say. He had spent many a night planning out a ridiculously romantic speech to give to Kurt if he ever worked up the courage to say anything. It went a little something like this. 

_ “I really like you Kurt. I think you’re one of the most strong willed, kind and amazing people I have ever met. Whenever we’re together I just want to hug you and kiss you, and I want you to feel proud enough to call me your boyfriend. This may freak you out, but this is how I feel, and I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, and-”  _ I n Blaine's fantasy mind, that was wear Kurt would interrupt his ramblings with a firm kiss. But this was not a fantasy, this was real life, and Kurt was standing right there, waiting for him to say something. He couldn’t do it, it wasn’t the right time. 

“Uh… nothing, don’t worry about it.” Kurt raised his brow.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.” Kurt nodded slowly, before turning from Blaine with a slightly suspicious smile, before he was dragged away into the crowd by Santana. 

“Bye!” Kurt called, waving, his giggle filling the room. Blaine smiled, lifting up one hand sadly, a pathetic attempt to wave back. 

“Bye.” Fiddling with his fingers anxiously, almost in irritation at his cowardness, Blaine watched Kurt's retreating form. He wanted to tell Kurt all those things, how he felt, but it wasn’t the right place. Not with all their friends around them, high on a performance rush. But he did want to say something, even just to himself. “You look…” Blaine started, trailing off, as he knew there was more he wanted to express in that moment, and searched his brain for a more fulfilling adjective, but in truth, there was only one word that could sum up how Kurt had looked that night. “...pretty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this one, I kinda like it, which almost never happens. also, i'm from the UK, so I don't know masses about the election, but I hope any of my American readers aren't feeling to anxious, and all of you who can have put in your vote!! again, your support means masses to me and look out for the next chapter! here's a little hint:  
> it's christmas time;)


	16. Baby it's Cold Outside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my GOD this chapter is long, I just spend my entire Monday evening finishing this. I am emotionally and physically drained but here ya go:))

“Oh my God. Who would do something like this?” Tina exclaimed loudly, gaping down numbly at the ruins of demolished and torn apart Christmas tree that lay strewn across the floor of the choir room, a helpless state. Mike embraced her in a hug, pulling the weeping girl in close. Blaine folded his arm and looked down, Santana stood by his side, shaking her head in disbelief. The club had walked into the choir room that morning, feeling particularly jolly due to the Christmas spirit flying round the room, to see their tree and all their presents ransacked and destroyed. It was a depressing sight. 

“Can you believe it? Sue is mean, but I refuse to believe that she would take gifts away from innocent children at the shelter.” Blaine nodded as Quinn spoke, thinking of the presents they had all planned to donate to the homeless, bringing innocent kids a bit of joy this Christmas. But apparently she really was just that heartless. 

“It’s awful, just awful.” Those were the main few words floating round the club, as everyone leaned down to inspect the damage, picking up the worst of it and chucking it into piles.

“We need a new tree.” Rachel remarked, holding her piece of broken foliage at arms length, as if the branch was going to attack her.

“We got this one free. We don’t have the budget for a new one.”

“Well we’re gonna have to find the money. 

“Why don’t we get a plastic one?”

“But I like the pine smell of a fresh one.”

“Does it really matter? A tree’s a tree.”

“No it’s not!” And that was when the room broke into arguments, shouting at each other pointlessly. Blaine just wanted someone to freakin' volunteer, his headache only increasing with the screams.

“I’ll do it.” Everyone spun simultaneously from their snipes and jabs to look at the voice that had spoken, Kurt's Hummel's voice nonetheless, who was sitting down by the piano, tapping at the keys gently. He seemed rather content with himself, smiling with wide-eyes at the over dramatic reaction that came from the rest of the club. 

“Really? Are you sure, Kurt?”

“Yes of course.” He stood from his seat and walked over to the tree, crouching down and inspecting it like a murder scene. “I have a buddy who works at a local tree place, so I can get a really good deal. If he’s feeling nice he might give me one of the big ones” Kurt stood to his feet, looking at their silently grateful faces with slight confusion. “Really, I don’t mind.” 

“Thank you, Kurt. Thank you.” Rachel rushed over to him, squeezing his arm appreciatively. “Christmas is saved!” She called joyfully, as everyone cheered, walking from the room and belting out Christmas hits happily. Some of the girls came up to Kurt and hugged him so fast that his arms were trapped under their embrace, and he just stood awkwardly, wide-eyed and confused. Blaine laughed, knowing Kurt hadn’t quite grown accustomed to the New Directions particular form of eccentricity. Once Kurt was freed from their grasp, he walked over to Blaine, body still tensed in the position he had held it in when being hugged _that_ many times. Arms flat to his sides and eyes open like saucers. 

“Are they always this fucking jolly?” He complained, dimples showing on his cheeks as he grinned. Blaine laughed, his mouth twitching. 

“They can be a little…  _ overenthusiastic _ .” Kurt nodded, releasing his rigid form and relaxing his shoulders, rolling them back slightly. As he did so, Blaine couldn’t help but scan Kurt’s outfit up and down. The boy wasn’t wearing his letterman jacket that particular day, so his entire clothing choice was on full display, a thing to be marvelled.

He wore black and white plaid pants that hugged every corner of his body, with suspenders holding them up. Blaine had seen a few kids round school wear a similar accessory, but it looked awkward and weird on them, Kurt wore it differently. More confident. His hair was styled perfectly, as per usual. And finally, a simple yet elegant Christmas sweater to finish the look off. It was black, and had a knitted Audrey Hepburn on the front, she posed like she did in her iconic  _ ‘Breakfast at Tiffanies’ _ photo, long cigarette held slack in one hand, but she had a red Santa hat on, a funny juxtaposition to the black and white photo. It was needless to say, Kurt looked handsome.

Only now however, when Blaine realised that he hadn’t said anything for a good few moments, that they stood in silence, still in the choir room, on top of a mountain of destroyed foliage. Kurt looked shifty, and Blaine went to ask why, but he beat him to it. It seemed there was something on his mind. 

“Is it just me, or did they seem weirdly shocked that I offered to buy them a  _ tree _ ?” Said Kurt, stealing glances at the door the club had just exited through. Blaine hesitated, choosing his words wisely. 

“Well, I think they just appreciate how you haven’t been in the club very long, but are willing to help them out, you know?” Kurt shrugged. 

“I guess so.” Blaine knew there was something up, and took a hesitant step forward, ignoring the crunch that the dismantled tree made underfoot. 

“What’s wrong?” Kurt looked away from him, placing his fingers to his temple somewhat dramatically and shook his head. 

“Nothing.” 

“I know you better than that, Kurt Hummel, and whenever you say nothing it’s almost always something.” Kurt choked out a small laugh, lifting his gaze from beneath his eyelash to watch Blaine. His eyes were bright, but his smile was sad. 

“I just feel like they haven’t accepted me as a member, you know? They treat me like I’m a ticking time bomb, like one day I’m gonna wake up and ditch them.” Kurt moved away from Blaine and walked to the black piano. He pushed himself onto it, so that he sat, legs hung and swinging, looking forward. “I thought after we drew at Sectionals they would treat me like one of their own. But…” Kurt trailed off, staring at the door the cheering club had recently exited through. Blaine nodded, recalling the previous week, where he and Kurt sang their duet at Sectionals, while Santana stole the show with her rendition of  _ ‘Valerie’ _ , coasting along to drawing with the so-called  _ ‘Warblers’. _ He still thought it was a ridiculous name, and was almost one hundred percent sure that their performance was better. 

Carefully however, Blaine made his way over to Kurt, and leant up against the piano, staring up at him. 

“I’m sorry you feel like that-” Kurt opened his mouth to interject, but Blaine managed to get there before he did. “-No. Don’t say anything, I’m sorry.” There was a silence, where Kurt said a faint ‘yeah’, kicking his legs back and forth still, slower now. Blaine slid his eyes upward, as a miniature plan began to form in his mind. “But you know what we’re going to do?”

“And what’s that?” Said Kurt, as Blaine pushed himself away from the piano and grabbed his satchel, which rested on one of the choir room chairs. 

“ _ We _ are going to go and pick the best christmas tree this shitty school has ever seen.” Blaine strided back to the piano, where Kurt was still perched, hand outstretched. Kurt looked at it, then back to Blaine, the corner of his lips turned upward subtly. 

“Blaine, that’s very sweet of you, but I don’t expect you to do that for me. I can go just as well by myself.” 

“No, we’re going together and I refuse to take no as an answer.” Kurt giggled slightly, looking down at his lap, a real grin spreading over his face. Blaine felt a warm tingle at his heart. 

“Fine.” Kurt sighed, reaching out and accepting Blaine’s offered hand, as he was pulled down from the black instrument. As his feet hit the ground, Blaine released him, nodding towards the exit in a silent gesture, and as he did, the bell rang out as a warning to get to class. 

“Shall we go get the tree after school? I’ll drive.” Said Kurt as he turned to his classroom.

“Sounds good.” Blaine waved at him, smiling as the boy disappeared out of sight. Blaine continued to stroll along the hall, making his way to calculus, and as he did so he couldn’t help but allow his mind to fantasise of the evening that followed. Perhaps shopping for a christmas tree wasn’t exactly a  _ ‘date’ _ , but it was something. He could envision him and Kurt walking along, choosing Christmas trees with hot chocolate clutched in their hands. Perhaps one day they’d be choosing their own tree, but Blaine stopped his train of thought before he could venture. He’d known Kurt for four months, it was ridiculous to fantasise that far into the future. But he couldn’t help it, the idea made his heart flutter. But for now, Blaine was happy with his relationship with Kurt. It was enough… for now.

***

“I love pine trees, the smell makes me think of Christmas.” Kurt remarked idly, his hands stuffed so far into his large coat pockets he was sure they had to be warm by now, what with his thick woolen gloves there to keep them from freezing. But that was how it was now, winter had come, the rain had lost the ambient temperature of early fall, freezing and paling Kurt’s skin on contact. The path leading to the Christmas tree place was muddy water in motion, filling the deep puddles that attempted to hide the ruts of dryer weather. Blaine walked beside him, a large black coat on and a red scarf, his hair still gelled to a tee. The boy's body was tense and tight, apparently similarly cold. 

“Mmm.” Was all Blaine managed to get out as an answer to Kurt’s question. 

“I thought you said you  _ wanted _ to come?” Teased Kurt, smirking at Blaine’s unimpressed glare. “Aren’t you having fun?”

“Oh yes, I’m absolutely loving this. The way the cold makes my toes go numb is absolutely riveting.” Sarcasm dripped from Blaine’s tone, and Kurt couldn’t help but roll his eyes. 

“You get bitchy when you’re cold.” He countered with a smirk, and Blaine shot him daggers, though Kurt could see a glint in his eye. They continued to walk in a comfortable silence, as families and partners alike strolled along the path, talking in excitement. And to his dismay, one particularly affectionate couple walked by them, kissing and murmuring what Kurt had to assume were sweet words of affection. They had their arms looped around the other, gazing lovingly. Kurt had never been the biggest fan of PDA, so pointedly ignored them. 

However, as the couple shared one particularly passionate lip-lock, Kurt felt Blaine’s eyes on him, hot and affectionate. It was the last thing he wanted to happen, and he felt himself begin to worry. Kurt didn't want for Blaine to get the wrong idea about what this little tree shopping trip meant. All Kurt wanted it to seem was just two friends helping out their Glee club, that was the point he wanted to get across, so chose not to meet his gaze. 

“Kurt!” At the call of his name, Kurt shot his eyes up quickly, sighing in thanks for the distraction. He recognised the boy in front of him, and his eyes lit up.

“Noah, hey!” He called, approaching him, the exasperated look and brown hair being unmissable. Noah Miller worked at his dad’s tyre shop on weekends, so Kurt regularly saw him. They’d known each other really since middle school, and despite the fact he was about two years older, they got on relatively well. As well as that, when the winter season rolled around, Noah sold christmas trees for extra money, which is how Kurt knew that he would be able to get a good deal on one. 

“I haven’t seen you at the shop recently.” Noah remarked, folding his arms and looking down at him.

“Yeah, I’ve been busy. New school.”

“Oh yeah, how’s that going by the way?” 

“Good, pretty good. I’m on the football team now actually, which is evidently making everything a lot easier.” Noah’s mouth dropped open comically, and he shook his head in disbelief. 

“No way, I don’t believe it. Kurt Hummel, the kid who avoided footballs like the plague in middle school.” Kurt smiled, shrugging his shoulders. “Seriously! When the football was on at thanksgiving you’d just sit in a different room and read Vogue.” Noah was a close family friend, so had spent a few thanksgivings with him and Bur back in the day, and Kurt smiled at the memory. 

“Well, the tables have turned.” 

“Apparently so.” Noah smiled in defeat, nodding his head appreciatively. “So what position do you play?”

“Kurt’s the kicker.” Kurt jumped slightly, as he heard a small voice pipe up from beside him. He only just remembered Blaine was still there, and hurriedly began to introduce the two. 

“Oh, Noah, this is my friend Blaine.” Noah smiled, holding his hand out for Blaine to take. Kurt couldn’t help but notice how stiff Blaine was, he was peering at Noah with a scrutinizing expression, as if he didn’t know whether to trust him or not. 

“Nice to meet you, man.” They released hands, and Blaine shoved his back and his pocket, still looking tense. 

“So how do you know Kurt?” Blaine interrogated, and Kurt felt a slight annoyance in him at Blaine’s sharp tone. He wanted to ask what it was about, and made a mental note to mention it later. Noah seemed taken aback too, but he was good at taking adversity in his stride, so plastered a smile to his face and continued. 

“We were friends in middle school-”

“-and he works for my Dad now.” Kurt finished for him, smiling at Blaine, who still didn’t look at all convinced. Kurt didn’t understand why, and shot him a look, but Blaine was far too busy peering at Noah to notice it. Apparently, Noah sensed the tense air, because he quickly changed the subject. 

“So what are you guys looking for? Your dad came in last week for a tree, Kurt, you can’t possibly need  _ another _ ?”

“No, it’s not for me, for our Glee club.” Noah seemed surprised, a reaction Kurt had been seen coming. 

“Glee club? Really?” Kurt nodded. “I didn’t peg you as the show choir type.”

“Well maybe you don’t know Kurt as well as I do.” Blaine spat, taking a step forward, so he was slightly in front of Kurt. Feeling irritated at his friend's dismissive and frankly rude behaviour towards Noah, Kurt grabbed Blaine’s arm and pulled him back so he tucked behind him, before the raven-haired boy had a chance to do anything that he’d regret. 

“Uh, okay.” Noah said, giving Kurt a bit of a look. Kurt shook his head, giving him a  _ ‘don’t worry about him’  _ glare and Noah nodded, understanding, beginning to back away. “I’ll… I’ll see you around Kurt

“Yeah, you too.” He replied softly, his lips turned upwards in a smile. 

“Unless you need any help?” Said Noah, and before Kurt had the opportunity to answer, Blaine spoke up. 

“No, we’re fine. Thank you.” He said in a monotone, and Kurt felt like giving him a sharp kick in the leg. Why was Blaine being so dismissive? And before he could even say goodbye to Noah a hug or a handshake, Blaine had his palm on Kurt’s back and was pushing him toward the entrance. He walked a few strides, staying nonchalant until they were both out of eye sight, before turning on Blaine angrily. 

“Blaine, what the hell?” Kurt whisper-hissed, shrugging off the hand pressed to his back. He faced him, moving to the side of the entrance, expectantly glaring. 

“What?” Kurt shook his head in angered disbelief. He was acting so clueless. 

“That was my  _ friend _ , you were being a total dick towards him.” Said Kurt, anger seeping from his words. Blaine looked taken aback, and began to fumble for his words 

“I-I just. I just- I thought that-”

“What did you think? That he’s a nice, considerate guy who was going to give us a huge discount on a tree?” Kurt interrupted, seething. 

“No. I just-”

“Forget it. I don’t want to hear it, let's just go find that damn tree.” He turned on his heel and walked off in the opposite direction, where trees of all different shapes and sizes were lined up in rows, separated by thin aisles. Kurt stopped at one and inspected its branches stiffly. He was angry with Blaine, and didn't understand his petty behaviour, but he appreciated him coming to help, so Kurt forced himself into false forgiveness. And soon enough, Blaine dragged his feet up to him, so they stood together, staring at the pine. 

“I’m sorry.” Blaine mumbled, and Kurt sighed, shaking his head. 

“It’s fine.” He said through gritted teeth, hoping to just move on. Blaine looked as though he was about to pull one of his _‘but it’s not fine Kurt’_ lines, but apparently stopped himself, as they fell into silence. 

“Shall we settle on this one, then?” Blaine asked after a while, pointing to the tree Kurt stared at.

“God no, it’s branches are too spaced out from one another, it looks like it’s been through a chopper.” Said Kurt, continuing on to scrutinize the next one.

“What about this one? It’s on sale.”

“It’s on sale for a reason, Blaine. Look at it, it’s all droopy and the branches are grey. That would not go with the aesthetic of the choir room at all, not that it really has one…” Kurt continued to drone on, and despite the fact he could feel Blaine not really listening, he pursued, desperate to fill the quiet. He knew if he allowed the silence to play out, he’d say something about Blaine's dismissive behaviour toward Noah that he’d regret, and he didn’t want to fight. Although, Kurt did have a small idea of what he was so contemptuous about, and if Kurt was correct in his assumptions, then he had to admit that Blaine was right. 

Yes, Kurt had had a small crush on Noah when they were kids, and he wasn't even ashamed of it. The tall boy was his first  _ real life  _ crush, some celebrities one's being Neill Patrick Harris and (young) Leonardo DiCaprio. But of course he liked him, Noah was the first boy to ever be nice to him, it was natural. And along with his good looks and witty sense of humour, it was pure crushable crack. But who was _Blaine_ to decipher that, and it only made Kurt more and more sure of the boy’s feelings. He would have to put an end to it, but for now, Kurt just enjoyed the sweet smell of pine leaves and the nice boy stood next to him. All they had to worry about was finding the perfect Christmas tree, he could think of Blaine's crush later. 

“Snow.” Kurt released himself from his worrying mind, when Blaine’s small voice piped up. And sure enough, as Kurt tilted his head back to look up at the sky, silvery flakes drifted down, glittering in the bright light of the harvest moon. They fell soundlessly, taking their time before they reached their destined places of rest, enveloping everything in a calm, silent coldness that was comforting in its own special way. Kurt smiled. 

***

“I needed this.” Kurt remarked, taking a sip of his hot chocolate thankfully, hands clutched so tightly around his paper cup. Blaine smiled at him, drinking his to, the warm liquid burning his mouth slightly, but trickling down his throat and warming his once frozen insides. He watched the small curls of steam rise into the wintry air, and stirred a little in his thick coat. 

“Me too. I’m freezing.” He agreed, shivering as they walked along the highstreet, the crisp air pinching at his skin. After much debating, they had successfully chosen a Christmas tree that esteemed itself suitable enough for the Glee club. It got wrapped in netting and thrown onto the roof of Kurt’s car, ready for them to take. Afterward, they ran into that  _ Noah _ character again, and Kurt had said goodbye to him with a hug and light kiss on the cheek.

_ Noah. _

Blaine didn’t like him. He didn’t like his good looks and his charming smile, and most of all, he didn’t like the way Kurt looked at him. It was a look of nostalgic fondness, and Blaine had to wonder whether anything had ever happened between them. He hoped not. 

Now however, after Blaine spat out his spiteful goodbye to  _ Noah Miller _ , they both decided to walk into town, the night having fully submerged the sky so the moon’s hazy glow shone over them. And as they walked, Kurt’s face had lit up over a small hot chocolate stand, and after Blaine marveled over the way excitement twinkled in his eyes, he offered to pay for two. He wanted to make up for his ill-mannered behaviour, so turned down Kurt’s obligations, and Blaine had to feel ever so slightly bad for being so obviously and purposefully rude towards Noah, but not bad enough. He still didn’t like him.

“Ooh. Blaine, look. Carollers!” Kurt exclaimed, pointing towards a cluster of men and women in red gowns, books in hands and facing a small crowd in front of them. Kurt bounced over and stood before them, watching with esteemed excitement. Blaine followed along, as their undoubtedly angelic voices began to sing  _ ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’.  _ Kurt’s excitement didn’t falter. 

“I thought you didn’t believe in God?” Blaine leaned in and whispered into Kurt’s ear. Kurt nodded slowly ,but ultimately kept his eyes trained on the performers. 

“I don’t, but I’m allowed to enjoy their incredible voices, aren’t I?” He said, taking a moment to glance at Blaine and smile softly, before turning back to the choir.

As the song drew to a close and the carollers said goodnight, seeming as though he and Kurt had just caught the last of their set, Blaine noticed one of the singers decked out in the red robes whom he vaguely recognised. And apparently she recognised him too, because as when the woman caught his eye she grinned broadly, and came running up to him.

“Blainers!” She shouted, quickly enveloping him into a tight hug and smiling. 

“Hi, Flora.” Laughed Blaine, releasing her so he could see into the woman’s eyes, which were a deep brown colour. Her skin was the hue of an English oak in spring rains, just as he remembered. Flora Adley used to babysit him and his brother, before Cooper moved to LA, so it was just the two of them up until Blaine was about twelve. He had tried to keep in touch with her, and they did for a good few years, but he got busy, and couldn’t make as many of their meetups. 

“Blainers, look at you! I haven’t seen you in ages.” Exclaimed Flora, rubbing his arms and scanning him up and down. Blaine noticed as she surveyed him, how despite the fact she was in her sixties and they hadn’t spoken in so long, she seemed to have not changed a bit. She was grinning from ear to ear, a mischievous glint in her pupil, before darting her eyes up at his hair, and her face fell. “Oh dear, what happened to your hair?” Flora reached up and touched his gelled head, before retracting her hand immediately, as if she had been burnt. 

“Oh, it’s hair gel, Flora.” 

“Hair gel? What happened to the curls?”

“Blaine had curls?” Blaine looked round to see Kurt, who he had only just recalled was standing there, looking incredulous. He blushed deeply. 

“ _ Has  _ curls.” Corrected Flora. “But he’s hiding them under that ridiculous helmet hair right now.” Blaine’s ears turned red, and chose to change the subject before the older woman brought up anymore embarrassing anecdotes. 

“Flora, this is Kurt.” He introduced, as Kurt held out his hand for her to shake. She took it. 

“How do you do?” Flora asked politely, and Kurt nodded, a genuine smile on his face. He seemed to like the old woman. 

“So how do you know Blaine?” Asked Kurt, and Flora placed her hands folded at her front, watching Blaine happily, as if she was daring him to interject any embarrassing stories she may whip out. 

“I used to babysit for his parents when they went away on trips, and after I got disbanded, we used to meet up every month for a little chit chat, didn’t we? But Mr  _ ‘Cheerleader’ _ got a bit busy for old Flora-”

“I didn’t get busy for you, I just...” Blaine trailed off, not knowing quite how to finish his sentence, because he knew it to be true. He did get rather occupied for monthly tea dates with the woman, and did feel almost guilty. 

“Mm, exactly.” She hummed, but not in a disappointed way, more joking. But then Flora turned to Kurt, glancing between them with raised eyebrows, smirking. “So is this your boyfriend, Blaine?” The woman asked nonchalantly, and Blaine felt his heart jump. He had come out to Flora a few years back, even before his parents, and she had been possibly the most accepting of everyone he knew at the time. But he didn’t want these kind of questions coming up, not around Kurt.

“What? No, no, no. He’s not- we’re not…” Blaine flustered, looking at Kurt for some help, expecting to see shock and embarrassment on his face, but instead he saw shoulders shaking. Laughter. 

“Ignore him, we’re just friends.” Kurt said, and Flora sighed, tutting and swaying her head. 

“Shame, shame. You’re a good looking boy, Kurt. Nice bone structure, didn’t you say you liked that Blaine-” Blaine panicked, and interrupted her before she could continue. 

“Ok! Let’s get going, Kurt. See you later, Flora.” He took Kurt firmly by the shoulders, trying to steer him away, but the boy stayed rooted to the spot. 

“Blaine, what are you doing?” Kurt proclaimed. 

“Yes,  _ Blaine.  _ What are you doing? You two should stay.” Flora interjected, walking up to the pair. 

“Stay?” Blaine repeated, eyebrows raised. 

“Yes, stay. I haven’t heard you sing in a while, Blainers, we’re done with the stage.” She turned and gestured toward the slightly raised platform with a few lonesome microphone stands placed precariously on the edge, a poor excuse for a stage. Alas, Flora turned to Kurt. “Do you sing, Kurt?” He shrugged. 

“I dabble.”

“Well there you go!’ She clapped her hands together happily, one swift movement. “You two can do a Christmas duet.” Blaine rolled his eyes, and looked at Kurt with one of his  _ ‘God this is ridiculous, but like, we’re going to do it anyway’ _ looks.

Kurt wore the same one, and smiled, nodding his head. In truth, Blaine desperately wanted to sing another duet with Kurt, and if it was to be a Christmas one, they just had to do  _ ‘Baby it’s Cold Outside’.  _

“I-” Kurt started in answer for the both of them, a broad smile on his face and his eyes lit up like stars. But as soon as that hopeful look came, it disappeared, and he stopped himself. His eyes had flitted from Flora, to just over her shoulder, his grin falling instantly. It made Blaine’s stomach plunge, and his brow furrowed in worry. He followed his eyes to where Kurt was staring at as if he had seen a ghost, searching for something that would trigger the kind of reaction Kurt was having, but saw nothing else but a few shoppers milling about, and one group of teenagers, all wearing blue letterman jackets. The jackets had a large ‘R’ on them, and the guys were throwing cans at each other and laughing loudly. Blaine didn’t understand, and before he could ask Kurt what was wrong, the boy was backing up, staring at that same spot in terror, his face white like a ghost. “I’m sorry, I-I have to go.” He turned and began to walk away. 

“Kurt? Are you ok?” Blaine asked, taking a few steps forward. 

“I’ll meet you at the car-”

“Kurt-”

“-at the car!” He hissed, and with that, broke into a run, abandoning his drunk hot chocolate in the trash, sprinting from sight. This left Blaine stood, dumbstruck and worried, watching Kurt retreat. He felt his body go numb, and it was only soothed when he felt a comforting hand on his arm, gazing after the spot Kurt had disappeared from with equal concern. 

“Is your friend ok?” Asked Flora, and Blaine didn’t look to her, his eyes still wistfully studying the outline of Kurt’s retreating form. 

“I- I don’t know.” He choked out, voice shaking. 

“You should go talk to him.” She said, releasing Blaine and turning him towards her, so they were at eye level. 

“Yeah, I probably should.” He said, and Flora hummed. 

“Well, be sure to email me, I would love to catch up.” Blaine smiled at her warmly, giving her one last hug. 

“I’d like that too, Flora.” He said into shoulder, before releasing the woman, and beginning to walk from her and back to the parking lot. 

“Blainers,” She piped up suddenly, taking a step closer to him, as Flora nodded her head toward the direction where Kurt had once stood, smiling suggestively. “He’s cute.”

***

Kurt’s palms were sweaty and the adrenaline coursing through his system was shutting down his ability to think logically. He wanted to run or beat the living daylights out of those damn football players, either would do. Kurt was pissed, he had been having a perfectly pleasant conversation with lovely Flora and Blaine, before he felt himself turn to a ghost as he caught sight of something that chilled him to the bone.

It was the Rutherford High Football team, Kurt’s old school, and when Kurt saw their snide little faces, memories flashed through his brain and he lost all ability to think logically. Memories of swirlies and locker slams. They were the guys who forced him out of that hell hole, for years they tortured him for his sexuality, bullied and teased him. The last thing he wanted was for them to see him sing some festive duet with another guy, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. Kurt didn’t know what happened himself, he panicked and ran, that was what he used to do. It worked about seventy percent of the time. 

Soon enough however, Blaine clambered into the car, bringing much snow in with him. He looked freezing, so Kurt hurriedly reached over and turned on the heating, hoping it would thaw the poor boy. 

“Is that better?” He asked gently, smiling sadly at Blaine, who nodded quickly. Kurt started the car, double-checking the tree was still stable on his roof, before driving off. He didn’t want to talk about him running off, he wanted to apologise, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Which is why, when Blaine went to ask what was wrong, he cut him off.

“Kurt, are you-?”

“I’m okay, Blaine. Let’s just go home.” He started the ignition and it roared to life, hoping that the engine would perhaps warm up the insides of the car. Blaine didn’t talk after that, an action Kurt was thankful for, he didn’t want to talk about it. He knew why he had run away, he knew and didn’t want to get into one of their intense conversations about it. Besides, perhaps Blaine would find out later. 

As they continued to drive in a comfortable silence, the snow outside only thickened, until you could feel the car move with each powerful gust. The windscreen wipers began to work faster, and Kurt was forced to squint to see the road ahead of him. 

“Woah.” Blaine said, clutching the car door for support as it shifted to the side slightly as the wind howled. Kurt worried about the tree on top, hoping it wouldn't fall from the roof or freeze over. He flicked the indicator to turn left, and they shifted onto the highway. Kurt looked out of the stained window, into the vast snow storm that came to render the streets, a once pretty Christmas-white. 

“God, it’s a blizzard out there.” Kurt remarked quietly to himself, and Blaine nodded from the passenger seat, still clutching onto the door in terror. Kurt glanced to the side and saw this, laughing slightly. “Calm down, we’re almost at the turning.”

“I know, it’s just- ah, shit.” Blaine slapped the sideboard with annoyance, and Kurt searched for what he was gesturing to.

“What… what is it?” He asked, before seeing what Blaine had been cussing at. “Oh.” The turning to Blaine’s house was blocked off due to the snow, a large fluorescent sign in front of it, reading:

_ CAUTION _

_ SNOW AND ICE _

“What are we gonna do?” Blaine said, tipping his head back against the seat, shivering less now, as the car’s heating system warmed up. 

“It’s fine, don’t panic. We just have to go the long way round.” Said Kurt, taking a left turn to a slightly longer route, that he knew would add twenty minutes onto the already tiresome journey, but would evidently get them to their destination. The car still rocked from the gails gusts, and Kurt had to find himself worrying. He grew up in a tire shop, learning from the age of five the mechanics of a car, and the freezing cold was sure to ice over the engine. And just as he suspected, a few minutes down the deserted road they had found themselves driving down, the car made a loud shuddering noise, and each time he pressed the accelerator it only became less and less effective.

“No, no, no, no, no.” Kurt pleaded, banging the wheel in irritation, pulling onto the curb, so he was out of the way of any oncoming traffic, not that there was any, the road they had gone down as their substitute to the blocked off one was like a ghost town. “Shit.” Kurt swore loudly, as the car finally came to a quivered halt, and the engine switched off. 

“This is a nightmare.” Blaine sighed, nursing his temple, the snow still blazing outside. 

“Fuck.” Kurt leant his head back against the back of the leather seat, whining with frustration “Fuck.” He said again, opening his side of the door harshly. The moment he stepped out into the blizzard, he immediately couldn't bare it. The wind cut through his skin and tortuously slashed his marrow with constant harsh blows, like rime daggers, as they moaned in the pleasure that was his pain. The snow beneath his feet jumped up in a great flurry, and licked his face with curious tongues constantly nipping at his nose. 

“Could this day get any worse?” He groaned to himself, kicking the snow as he pulled open the trunk of his car, where his emergency tools were stored. Kurt took them out, squinting through the snow, and made his way to the bonnet.

“What are you doing?” Blaine called from the comfort of the vehicle, leaning out slightly, before instantly retracting as the snow sliced his skin. 

“I’m finding out what’s wrong with the engine!” He shouted over the gusts, shining a torch into the darkness, where the hot steam warmed his face ever so slightly. 

“Do you need help?” Blaine clambered out, his scarf wrapped tighter around his neck, and now a matching bobble hat on. He surveyed Kurt working, and raised his eyebrows as much as the cold would allow. “How do you know how to do this?” Kurt fitted his screwdriver into one of the nuts and turned, grunting as he did so. 

“My dad owns a tyre shop, I work there on weekends..” He twisted. “And it - looks like - we may be - stuck here- for - a - while.” He took one last, hard twist, causing an immediate loud pop from the engine, and steam began to rise up. “Fuck!” Kurt shouted loudly, for the thrice time that day, and threw the screwdriver on the ground, placing his hands to his hips and groaning up a the sky

“You okay?” Blaine asked carefully, leaning down and picking up the screwdriver, handing it to Kurt, who sighed, accepting it. 

“Let’s get back in the car, we might be here a while.”

***

An hour passed, and Kurt and Blaine had entertained themselves for the most part of that with the  _ ‘Wicked’ _ soundtrack. Somehow, the radio still worked despite the cold, even though it crackled. But as the closing notes to  _ ‘For Good’  _ played out, they were sent into quiet silence, and Blaine sighed. 

“We called the tow truck ages ago, when is it coming?” Blaine asked, tipping his head to look at Kurt, who looked distasteful. 

“I don’t know, I-” Kurt’s phone buzzed, and he took it out and scanned over whatever the message was, his face dropping as he read more and more. “Ergh, they’re not coming.”

“What?”

“They’re stuck because of the snow, it’s gonna take them hours.” Kurt said, apparently biting back another wheel slam or cuss word.

“Is the tree okay at least?” Blaine asked, and Kurt leaned out of the window to look up at the roof, he sighed. 

“It’s covered in snow, so I can’t really tell, but I think it’s fine.” He sat back in his seat, looking over at him with sad eyes, and Blaine had to wonder what was the cause of them. “I’m sorry for dragging you out here.”

Blaine shook his head at him, contorted features. 

“Kurt, it’s fine. Mother nature has just had it out for us today.” Kurt chuckled, looking down at his lap. 

“Yeah, she has.” He said, and turned his head to look at him with kind eyes, causing Blaine's cheeks to go red. “You know what, I’m just gonna call my dad. I hate taking favours from him, but I don’t think my body can take anymore of this weather.” Kurt pulled out his phone, and began dialing numbers, placing the device to his ear. After a few moments, he spoke up.

“Hey Dad, it’s me.” Kurt said, and Blaine could hear the faint sound of a man’s voice, a voice he recognised as Burt Hummel’s, on the other line. “Yeah, I’m okay… well, actually I’m not. Blaine and I are stuck on some side road in Westerville, the expansion cracked the aluminum block of the engine, and it’s completely ruined.” He heard the voice increasing. “Yes, I did try that, no use.” More talking. “I have, but they’re taking fucking ages… come on Dad, we’re stuck in a blizzard at half-nine at night, I’m allowed to cuss.” Blaine smiled to himself, biting back a laugh. “Thank you, thank you so much. You’re the best, I’ll make dinner for two weeks… yes, fine, a month… okay, see you in a bit. Bye… okay, bye.” Kurt hung up the phone, and shoved it back into his pocket. 

“Dad’s sending one of our tow truck drivers, should be here in a half hour.”

“Great.” Blaine said through gritted teeth, not of anger, but out of cold. The heating had stopped working, so now they were just sitting in a freezing car, shivering in their large winter coats. Kurt sighed deeply, and began fiddling with the dials on the radio.

“Screw this, let’s put on my Christmas album.” 

“Yes... oh God yes.” Blaine pleaded, as the opening notes to  _ ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’  _ began to play. Grinning, he rested his head against the window and sang along softly, as did Kurt, both staring out at the snow. It was rather depressing when thinking about it, two teenagers sat in a car in the middle of a blizzard, singing along to Mariah Carey’s Christmas hits. The song continued, and Blaine found himself looking over at Kurt lovingly, as the boy watched the blizzard outside with irritated, yet awe-filled eyes.

Blaine _wanted_ Kurt, not in that sense, but he wanted Kurt to look at him the way he looked at  _ Noah _ . He wanted him and Kurt to watch cringey Christmas movies together and laugh at their poor animation, perhaps cuddling on the couch. He wanted to walk hand in hand through a wintery forest, to make angels in the white fluff, to kiss that  _ damn _ mouth senseless in the middle of a snow filled backyard.

Blaine felt himself smile at the mental image, and he closed his eyes and sighed, glancing over at the boy, who was still wistfully staring out at the dying snowstorm outside, totally oblivious to Blaine’s fantasies. 

_ God if he only knew. _

Then, Kurt gasped slightly, and turned to Blaine, a grin set on his face.

“I totally forgot, I got you something!” Kurt lept out of the car, not needing to wrap up quite so warm now due to the snow having died down slightly, and made his way to the trunk of the car, and when he came back, he held an ornate red box in his hands.

“Wha- Kurt! You got me a Christmas present?.” Blaine felt so warm in that moment, as gift exchanging had been exactly what he envisioned when daydreaming about possible scenarios for the two of them. Though, in his version he had a gift to give Kurt too, but didn’t have his present on him. Blaine knew what he was getting Kurt however, he only had to make it. 

“Mhm. Open it!” Kurt said, bouncing in his seat slightly and hands folded to his lap. Blaine pulled back the lid, and inside, saw two pom pom. He pulled them out, inspecting them, noting the were much like the red and white one’s Sue allocated him, but they were pink instead - pink and white. Blaine smiled at them. 

“Kurt. You- this…” Blaine struggled for the words, as he picked them up and examined them. He really did love them. “This is amazing, you- you’re amazing. Thank you.”

“Yes, well, do you remember when we watched Funny Face together?”

“Of course.”

“And I told you, if you had to think-”

“Think pink.” Blaine finished, grinning at the pom poms so broadly and happily, they were such a thoughtful gift, he absolutely adored them.

“Kurt, I- wow. You know me so well.” Kurt giggled, clapping his hands in happiness to his reaction. In Blaine’s imagination, this would be where he’d lean in and kiss Kurt as a thank you, but for now, a hug would have to do. He leaned forward and looped one arm around Kurt’s shoulder so his hand pressed onto his back. At first, Kurt seemed surprised, but then giggled and settled slightly, as Blaine lowered his head into his shoulder, and drew in his scent as discreetly as possible. 

“You’re very welcome.” Chuckled Kurt, releasing Blaine with a smile and settling back into his seat. Blaine did so too, as they fell into pleasant silence, the snow now dying ever so slightly outside, but still strong enough to cause the car to rock with each gust. Blaine looked down at the pom poms and grinned broadly at them, playing with their delicate strands, twirling them around his finger. He could hardly believe Kurt bought him a present, and was so beyond happy by its thoughtful nature. Blaine knew what he was getting Kurt,  _ well _ , making Kurt, and he had already bought everything he needed for it. However, just as he began to ponder when and how he would begin work on his little project, a certain event that occurred earlier that evening swam into his head, and he just had to ask.

“Kurt, can I ask you something?” Blaine found himself saying before he could stop himself, and Kurt turned his head in acknowledgement, the corners of his mouth creasing with a smile. The sweet sight made Blaine want to back out of questioning, but he followed through. “What- what made you so- uh, freaked out back there?” Kurt’s smile dropped, as did Blaine’s heart at the image.

“I- yeah… I am sorry about that.” Kurt stuttered, staring down at his lap, avoiding Blaine’s gaze. “I’m- I’m sorry.”

“Kurt, you know you don’t have to be sorry. I’m just worried about you.” Blaine said with a sad gaze, twisting in his seat to face the boy, who was still systematically avoiding his eye. 

“That’s sweet of you Blaine, and I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine.” 

“Fine doesn’t equal running away mid-conversation.” 

“Don’t remind me, I feel awful as it is.” Said Kurt, rubbing his temple, as if he were trying to remove the memory by friction. Blaine felt like Kurt wanted to end the conversation, so he turned back to the window, the snow falling far slower now, until he heard Kurt exhale, so looked back. “Okay, fine, do you really want to know?” Blaine nodded eagerly. 

“You can tell me.” Kurt swivelled in his seat to face him, as did Blaine. The boy's chest rose and fell, before opening his mouth to speak. 

“Well when we were talking, I saw these- these guys from my old school and I-” He broke away from Blaine and looked ahead, numb. “God, this probably sounds really stupid, but I just freaked out. Must have been a reflex or- or something.” Blaine felt such intense sadness for Kurt at that moment, and he reached out, placing a hand on Kurt’s, which rested on his knee. Kurt looked down at it, and then back up at Blaine, a small smile on his face. 

“Kurt, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Kurt smiled, his gaze still trained on their connected hands. 

“I was scared, which is probably the most humiliating part.” 

“Kurt that is not-”

“No, I know. I shouldn't be embarrassed, I know. It’s just I-” He paused, wavering his free hand around, as if he were trying to find the word. “I thought I had moved on from all that crap, but seeing them just bought it all back and I- I freaked.”

“Kurt, it’s okay.” Blaine reasoned, but Kurt shook his head. 

“No, it’s not. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry-?”   


“Because I didn’t want to sing with you.” Kurt snapped harshly, pulling his hand away from Blaine’s in favour of resting them both on the wheel. Blaine felt his heart sink, and he too, retracted it. 

“What- What do you mean you- you didn’t want to sing with me?” Blaine whimpered, and Kurt gave him an apologetic glance at his outburst. 

“That came out wrong, of course I wanted to sing with you, we sound great together. It's just, I didn't want _them_ to see me sing with a- a guy. And that’s why I’m embarrassed… I’m scared that deep down, even if I don’t really realise it... I’m ashamed of who I am.” Kurt said the last bit in a whisper, and his eye brimming with tears. As Blaine heard those heart wrenching words, he just had to push past his feelings for Kurt, and simply pity the person in front of him. “God, I’m sorry, all that probably sounds stupid.” Kurt said, plummeting his face into his hands and groaning, and Blaine shook his head. 

“It doesn’t, it makes sense.” Blaine said, a sad smile on his lips. “I’m sorry that’s how you feel.” Kurt nodded at him, exhaling deeply and smiling at him from the corner of his eye.

“Thank you, Blaine.” He said, reaching out and patting his hand, taking a glance out of the window, where the snow had fully set, so only a blanket of white covered the streets and trees. Blaine had an idea, he felt like many of his conversations with Kurt were serious, so wanted to cheer them both up, considering the situation. 

“Do you want to- to do the duet?” Kurt whipped round at him, a small grin tugging at his lips.

“What?”

“The duet, when we were in town I was thinking maybe we could sing  _ ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’... _ so do you wanna do it now?” Blaine saw that familiar glisten in Kurt’s eyes, the glisten he always got when the idea of performing came up

“How are we gonna do it, we have no backing.” Kurt said it as more of a statement, teasing.

“I have it on my iPod, we can play it through the car.” Blaine said, taking out his iPod and beginning to connect it to the wire. “Come on!” Once the car was connected, Blaine jumped out of his side of the car an waded through the snow to Kurt’s door, grabbing the boy’s hand and dragging him out into the cold, crisp air.

“What- Blaine! What are you doing?” Kurt squealed, taking his hands and rubbing his arms to thaw himself. Blaine smiled so broadly, leading him out into the empty, snow covered street, where the sky was so dark only a lonely street lamp illuminated the road. 

“Do you dance?”

“Blaine, we’re in Glee together.”

“I mean, do you dance ballroom?” Kurt smiled, as Blaine slipped his right hand round Kurt’s waist and placed his other in the boy’s gloved hand, reaching it out to the side.

“Ballroom?”

“Mhm.” Blaine teased, smiling as the opening notes to  _ ‘Baby it’s Cold Outside  _ began to play from the vehicle. “Ready?”

“What are you doing?” Kurt’s words lost meaning as his sentence progressed into just inane laughing, and Blaine began to lead the way as they started to dance. Kurt giggled hysterically, as Blaine counted their steps

“One, two three. One, two, three…” He murmured gently under his breath, watching their feet move in time, hands still suspended, and Blaine’s words trailed off as Kurt began to sing, Blaine following quickly after.

_ I really can't stay (Baby it's cold outside) _

_ I gotta go away (Baby it's cold outside) _

_ This evening has been (Been hoping that you'd dropped in) _

_ So very nice (I'll hold your hands they're just like ice) _

Although they were both half-laughing as they stepped on each other's toes, still swaying in the snow, their voices still rang out through the street. As the song progressed, Blaine spun Kurt out, before bringing him back in so they were entwined together, Kurt giggled into Blaine’s shoulder.

_ I ought to say no, no, no sir (Mind if move in closer?) _

_ At least I'm gonna say that I tried (What's the sense of hurtin' my pride?) _

_ I really can't stay (Baby don't hold out) _

_ Baby it's cold outside _

Kurt slipped out of Blaine’s grasp and walked over to the side of the road, opposite the car, so he looked out towards a large lake that they had only realised when stood in front of it, sat by the road, frozen over in front of them yet obscured through the night. Blaine followed him so they stood together, still singing, looking out toward the water. Both their hands were crossed behind their backs flirtatiously. 

_ My sister will be suspicious (Gosh your lips look delicious!) _

_ My brother will be there at the door (Waves upon a tropical shore) _

_ My maiden aunt's mind is vicious (Gosh your lips are delicious!) _

Kurt made his way from the waters edge and walked across the road so he stood under the streetlamp, basking in it’s orange glow. He looked beautiful, and Blaine wanted to tell him that, but he needed to keep singing. Blaine approached him and took his hand, dragging him to the middle of the street. Instead of going back to their formal dancing, Blaine spun Kurt and teased him, swaying in a more jazz-like manner. 

_ There's bound to be talk tomorrow (Think of my lifelong sorrow!) _

_ At least there will be plenty implied (If you caught pneumonia and died!) _

_ I really can't stay (Get over that old out) _

_ Baby it's cold _

_ Baby it's cold outside _

As the two sang the final lines, they were both properly laughing, and had returned to their original positions, hands slipped behind the other’s back, swaying with heads resting on the other's shoulder. Blaine smiled into Kurt’s the crook, and though it seemed forward, he tilted his head so his nose nuzzled into Kurt’s deep coat, and he grinned so broadly Blaine felt like punching the air happily, but refrained from it, Kurt's shoulder was far to comfortable. Finally, the music faded away, and they separated, hands still connected and palms rested on the small of the others back.

Their faces were inches from each other, so close Blaine could feel Kurt’s breath on his chin. It was captivating. Kurt’s eyes shone in the light of the moonlight, reflections from the singular streetlamp causing his glasz eyes to turn to a deep copper. Blaine wanted to kiss him. He was right there, his _lips_ were right there, soft and welcoming. To him, the moment felt perfect. Blaine had been waiting for the right time, but it had never felt…  _ romantic _ enough. But what was more romantic than a kiss in the snow, after singing a flirty duet in the street, a crescent moon smiling down at them? Blaine’s eyes flicked down to Kurt’s lips, something he had refrained from doing for so long, out of fear he wouldn’t be able to resist and connect them, but he felt sure now. 

Kurt’s face was unreadable, he didn’t pull away from Blaine nor did he lean in. It was now or never, like Puck had said after Sectionals. Blaine leaned in so slowly he was barely moving, both his hands shaking slightly despite them being clasped in Kurt’s warm grip. Blaine’s mind was repeating the same sentence over and over,  _ "Don't do this... don't do this." _ But the sound of his heart was beating so loudly he couldn't concentrate. He felt like it was going to explode. 

But suddenly, with the screech of tyre’s and the honk of a horn, two shining headlights shone upon them, juxtaposing harshly to the midnight darkness. Kurt away first, and Blaine quickly followed, both flustered and flushing furiously. A good six feet separated them. Blaine’s heart was pounding, and he snuck a glance at Kurt, feeling embarrassment spreading throughout him, but the boy was peering at the large tow truck that was approaching them swiftly. Blaine had forgotten about that  _ damn _ truck. 

“Oh, look, it- it’s Paul! Hi- um- hi. I- I… you- great.  _ You’re _ here now.” Kurt stuttered with far too much obviously forced happiness for it to be natural, walking towards the drivers door, his back turned, and for once Blaine was thankful for it, because now he was out of Kurt’s line of vision, he could outwardly cringe at himself. He had been  _ so _ close. 

So  _ fucking _ close. 

Kurt's lips were near to be connected to his, and if it wasn't for the tow truck's arrival, they could be kissing now, and perhaps on the way to being boyfriends. _God_ he felt like an idiot. 

Alas, Blaine forced his feet into movement and approached the truck, where Kurt was talking with the driver, who he apparently knew rather well.

“Your Dad is driving behind Kurt, he’s taking you and your friend home. I’ll take the truck.”

“Thank you, Paul. Thank you so much. You’re a lifesaver.”

“That’s what I'm here for.” Paul smiled, jumping out, along with some other men who had apparently been sitting in the passenger seats, but it was hard to tell due to the dark. Kurt smiled at them as they began to retreat into the snow, so now Kurt and Blaine were left…  _ alone _ . They stared at each other for a moment, awkwardly at that, not knowing quite what to say. What was there to say? They had almost  kissed _. _

“I’ll- I’ll get our stuff from the car.” Kurt said, gesturing toward the vehicle, walking from Blaine so quickly he hardly had time to reply. 

“Oh- right, yeah. Me too.” They collected their belongings, dead silence, up until Burt pulled up in his truck and stepped out, and Blaine actually heard Kurt sigh in relief. He gave them both a brief hello, and helped load the snow covered tree onto the roof of his car, and both their belongings into the trunk, before they clambered into the vehicle, and drove off, leaving Kurt’s car to be towed and repaired. No one spoke for the rest of the journey. Well, Kurt and Blaine didn’t speak, Burt filled the silence with berating Kurt on his ability to prevent an engine from freezing over.

“How many times have we been through how you can lower the internal pressure? You should have checked before you left, you  _ knew _ it was going to snow.” Burt scolded as they drove, before Blaine was eventually freed from his obvious awkwardness as they pulled up to his house. 

“See you later, Blaine. You’re welcome anytime.” Burt smiled kindly as Blaine got out.

“Thank you. Mr Hummel.” He said through the window, before apprehensively flitting his eyes over to Kurt, who still wouldn't meet his gaze. “Bye, Kurt.” Blaine said flatly, and Kurt muttered something in return, obviously uncomfortable. Blaine just nodded at the two, before turning and walking up the path to his front door. He refrained from slamming his head to his hands until Burt's truck was out of sight, and when it was, h e scuffed at the ground with his shoe angrily and placed his palms to his forehead, staring up at the sky and making a sort of growling noise. 

“Blainers! There you are, where have you been?” Blaine’s mother's voice broke into his embarrassed frustration, and he looked over to her, her silhouette standing in the light of the doorway. 

“Sorry Mom, car trouble.”

“Are you okay? Where’s your friend, Kurt was it?”

“His Dad picked us up… he’s gone.” Blaine spat bitterly, running up to his room without another word to his confused his mother, making a mental note to apologise to her in the morning, before falling onto his bed and burying his face into his pillows, swearing into it in frustration. As he lay there, replaying the events of that evening, which at first made him feel warm and happy, but then that emotion was replaced with pure humiliation. Or perhaps that was a strong word... _regret_ would suit the situation better.

Tears brimmed at the corners of Blaine's eyes as he replayed Kurt's face after the _'almost kiss',_ the look of shock, disappointment... disgust? _Ergh_ , Blaine wanted to cry. Leaning in for that kiss was one of those action and consequence moments, eternal and fleeting. When whatever he did had occurred but the reaction was yet to come. The seed of embarrassment had already been wedged inside him and scorched upon his cheeks. 

He needed to fix this, he couldn’t lose Kurt. So Blaine forced his brain and his body into an uneasy sleep, ready for the following day. He awoke an hour early, determined to finish his task before school, and made his way to the kitchen. Blaine had decided on his present for Kurt weeks ago…  _ cookies _ . Perhaps cliche and simple, but he wanted to make Kurt something personal, so thought of what Kurt loved most. _Fashion_. So after much consideration, Blaine decided to ice on top of the cookies iconic fashion designs throughout history, these included: 

Marilyn Monroe's  _ 'The Seven Year Itch’ _ , Coco Chanel’s  _ ‘Little Back Dress’ _ , and many of Audrey Hepburn’s iconic looks. It was a perfect plan, he had spent ages drawing each one out, and was actually very happy with them.

So Blaine got to baking with the precision of a NASA engineer. Not once did he ever use cups or spoons, every single thing was weighed precisely to a fraction of a gram on his electronic scales. No matter what he made, at no point was there any mess to be seen. The kitchen counters were as spotless as his apron and neat, gelled hair. As he opened the oven door, the soft smell of his freshly baked sweet treats teased his nose. He grinned at them, and whipped out the icing he had prepared beforehand, along with the stencils he had cut out for the dresses on top. 

“What you up to, Blainers?” His mother's voice made him flinch slightly, just as he was icing on the Julia Roberts  _ ‘Pretty Woman’  _ red dress. The flinch had messed up the cookie, and he sighed, tossing it into the pile of ruined icings. 

“Baking.” He replied, starting the biscuit over. His mother came up to his side and leaned over his shoulder, drawing in the sweet scent of freshly baked cookies. 

“Wow. These are amazing.” She stated, examining them from a distance. “Are those- those  _ dresses _ on top?” 

“Yes, these are iconic dresses throughout the history of uh- fashion.” Blaine finished lamely, not actually knowing that much about what he was doodling. His mom noticed.

“I didn’t realise you were into fashion?” 

“Well, not really. These are for a friend.”

“And what friend is that?”

“Kurt.” Blaine said, feeling a crimson begin to form on his cheeks at the image of Kurt seeing these cookies, they were pretty good if he did say so himself. 

“Kurt?” She said, raising her eyebrows, before gasping. “Oh my-  _ Blaine _ you’re blushing.” His mother said, shoving his shoulder playfully, and Blaine brought his hand up to cover it, feeling the heat. 

“I am not.”

“No- no, don’t be embarrassed, it’s sweet.” She said, rubbing his shoulder and walking toward the living room, which was all detached to the kitchen, so they were still able to speak.

“I just wanted to do something special for him.” Blaine said, not even trying to hide his giddy tone. 

“That’s lovely of you Blaine.” Mom said, beginning to fluff up a cushion on the couch aimlessly. He could feel her looking at him. “Why don’t you invite Kurt over?” That surprised Blaine, and he actually stopped icing to turn and look at her.

“Are you serious? Won’t Dad be kinda… you know-”

“Yes, yes I know. He wouldn't like it, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Blaine raised his eyebrows, grinning at the woman, before becoming so overcome with emotion he ran to his mother and enveloped her in a hug.

“You are the best Mom ever, you know that?”

“Mmm, I know I'm awesome.” She giggled, squeezing him back. Blaine loved how accepting she was, even more so when he knew how hard it was for her at first, but that mostly because of his father. However, as Blaine released her and went back to his work, he felt surprisingly confident, not in just the cookies, but in himself. He had recovered from the embarrassment of the previous night, surprising quickly, and was ready to face the situation head on. This confidence led him to school the next morning, a delicately wrapped box full of cookies clutched in his hand. He approached Kurt at his locker, pushing past his humiliation of the previous day, the baked goods held at arm's reach.

As Kurt opened them, his hands flew to his mouth in shock, and he squealed, picking up each cookie and naming the dress without hesitation, ad Blaine grinned happily, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders. And before he knew it, Kurt attacked him with a hug, and insisted Blaine keep some cookies to himself, and though he denied, Kurt snuck some into his hand kindly, and Blaine thanked him. He did notice Kurt had given him the pink ones, much like his pom moms - a thoughtful gesture. Apparently they had moved past the day before, and Blaine felt like they had rekindled their friendship. Which is why he knew as Kurt trotted off down the hall, the red box held to his chest lovingly, the next time he was faced with that kind of opportunity, that kind of moment for a kiss, and there was no tow truck to interrupt them, Blaine would do it, regardless of his fear. That he was sure of, more sure than he had ever been of anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so fluffy, yet so angsty... huh


	17. I'm Over It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school is taking over my life at the moment argh... once I've posted this I literally have so homework I've been procrastinating about for days. *sigh* here's some klaine.

The holidays were over, and Kurt had recently endured his first week back at school. His Christmas had been relatively good, spending it with Finn and Carole, which was a nice bonding opportunity for the four of them. Kurt had thanked his Dad and Carole for the clothes and accessories they had gotten him, along with some of his  _ own _ footballs to practice with outside of school, which a few months back he would’ve had no interest in, but now he smiled broadly and hugged both of them for the gesture. 

Kurt was anxious about what Finn would buy him, and to no one’s surprise, the boy had gotten him video games, which Kurt was sure he would again have no interest in, but after plugging them into the console and starting to play, he got  _ very _ into it. So much so, that when Mike invited all the guys from Glee round to his house for a hangout, Kurt lept right onto his game and absolutely  _ destroyed _ Puck and Sam.

“What the-? Dude, no!” They shouted in frustration as their characters on the screen fell to the ground, dead. They turned to him, controls held slack in their grip, and Kurt shrugged, a smile tugging at his mouth.

“Can you show me how you did that- that flip thing whilst throwing the daggers, it was so cool!” Finn approached them, having been watching from the sideline, as they all crowded around. It was intimidating, but Kurt worked well under pressure. He sort of had to, being the kicker and all. 

“Yeah sure, you just…” He began to explain, pointing out the controls as the boys nodded along, having never looked at Kurt with so much purpose. It was flattering. Eventually, Puck, Sam and Finn managed to get the move right, and turned back to the screen of fighting characters with much more enthusiasm. Kurt got up from the beanbag he was sitting on to perch on the end of Mike’s bed, where he surveyed the busy room around him idly. He watched as the majority of the guys gathered around the screen, shouting and screaming in choruses, making his ears feel like they were going to bleed.

“God, they’re loud.” A voice spoke, and Kurt snapped his head up to see Blaine approaching him, two sodas held in his hand. He held one out for him, and Kurt accepted it, opening the seal with a crack.

“Yeah, they are.” He chuckled, taking a sip of the beverage, pursing his lips slightly as it fizzed inside his mouth uncomfortably. Neither spoke for a moment, and as the two continued to survey the room around them, Blaine cleared his throat awkwardly, and they plunged into an uncomfortable silence.

Things had been weird between them ever since school had started up again after Christmas break, and only after Blaine gave Kurt his Christmas present, a very thoughtful and delicious gift by the way, things had sort of gone back to normal. But no, they hadn’t spoken since the beginning of the school term, and when they had, it had been deeply awkward, like now. 

Kurt was sure Blaine had been flirting with him before the holidays, when his car had broken down and they were left stuck on the side of a road for a good few hours, in which there had been a lot of the ‘Wicked’ soundtrack, a pretty deep conversation and then a duet of ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’, and that was where it had really all gone wrong. The duet was flirtatious, undeniably so, and Kurt sort of hated himself for it, but he found himself getting into the performance, and Blaine’s playful dancing and cheeky smiles enticed him. And when those final notes rang out, they had somehow found themselves standing face to face, nose to nose, eyes and lips so close.

Kurt didn’t know what was happening, until he found Blaine’s gaze flicking southward, and he began leaning in. Kurt’s heart was pounding, he wanted to pull away, he tried to pull away, but his brain wouldn’t connect with his limbs, and he just stood there numbly, unconsciously waiting for Blaine’s warm lips to thaw him. But thankfully, or not thankfully, they were interrupted by the tow truck. 

But now, bringing himself back into the world, he and Blaine were sitting on Mike’s bed, feet apart, in dead silence. Kurt wanted to say something, to break the tension, but before he could articulate a sentence in his head, Blaine was already ahead of him. 

“Look, Kurt, I need to tell you something.” 

_ Oh God,  _ he thought, panicking inwardly yet trying to remain nonchalant on the outside. He tried to refrain his voice from shaking as he spoke, but failed nonetheless.

“Yeah, what is it?” Kurt knew what it was, Blaine had that nervous look in his eye. He seemed shifty, nerves showing through the wringing of his hands and the sweat of his brow. 

“I-I wanted to talk about…  _ us _ .” 

_ Fuck _ \- Kurt inwardly cussed. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t shoot Blaine down. His initial knee jerk decision was to put out the fire before it could begin roaring, so started talking, slowly and clearly. 

“Blaine, wait, let me go first.”  _ Oh God, _ Blaine looked hopeful at that. He looked as though he were expecting Kurt to admit  _ his _ feelings, feelings Kurt was sure he didn’t have, or couldn’t have right now- it didn't matter. The point was, that definitely was not his intention. “I-I… urgh.” Kurt groaned and plummeted his face into his hands, feeling Blaine tense up next to him, he could almost picture the boy's face fall, but didn't dare look.

“Kurt? Are you- are you ok?” He shifted in his seat to be closer to him, and Kurt felt a comforting hand on his back. He couldn't see Blaine or his surely worried and sympathetic look, for all he was staring into was the darkness of his hands shielding his face. 

“No… No, I’m not okay.” Kurt said, shaking his head and sitting up, turning so he was facing Blaine. He took three deep breaths, 1… 2… 3, and began to talk, quickly at that. “Blaine… I don’t really know how to say this, but it’s been on my mind and I think it’s best we talk about it. Because, before the holidays, we got stuck in the- the snow and we-we sang that duet and…” He trailed off, sighing and comprehending what he was about to say. What he wanted to do was say  _ ‘Look Blaine, you almost kissed me. What’s the deal?’  _ But instead of stating the obvious, Kurt ripped the band aid off and blurted out what he was really thinking.

“Blaine, do you like me?”

***

Blaine felt sweat build around the collar of his Cheerios uniform, he felt his face heat up unbearably, and his hands begin to shake. Wasn’t this the moment he had been so desperately waiting for? For Kurt to ask what his feelings were instead of having to stay with them himself, but this wasn’t like his fantasies. Kurt’s tone wasn’t kind and full of desire, he wasn’t looking at Blaine hopefully, their lips weren’t connected and the setting was definitely not right, none of it was. He felt his world crashing around him, because the truth he knew to be fact had been buried in the back of his head was now confirmed…  _ Kurt didn’t like him back.  _

How could he have been so stupid? How could he think that he may be wanted by someone, someone like Kurt. Blaine looked at the boy, who was staring at him with a furrowed brow and waiting expression, eyes sympathetic, but mouth set in a thin line. 

“Uh… no.” Blaine lied obviously, staring down at his lap to try and think of an explanation for their ‘almost-kiss’ in his head. “No… I-I don’t uh… _like_ _you_.” The words tasted bitter on his tongue, he hated saying them. They were words he never wished to be stating to Kurt, but here he was. He looked over at the handsome boy in front of him, eyebrows raised even higher now.

“Blaine, please be honest with me. I don’t want to sound mod- modest or anything, but…” He trailed off again, gesturing with his hand, smiling slightly. Blaine didn’t return his grin, and instead grimaced at his laps, his brain knotting together theories on how he could breeze past a situation he had been dreading for so long. You would’ve thought that after hours of designing their first date in his head, he would have figured out how to bypass this kind of problem. But his brain had been far too occupied with moonlight dinners and kisses on the beach.

“Well, I used to uh… li- like you.” _Oh God, he’d said it._ It wasn’t even true either, Blaine didn’t _used_ to like Kurt. He just liked him. “But I don’t anymore, because…” _Think. Think. Think._ He just started talking, the first thing that came to mind. 

__ “... I have a boyfriend.” 

_ Wait… what was that?  _ W _ hy did he say that? He didn’t have a boyfriend? What was he thinking? What was he going to tell Kurt? Oh God- _

“You have a boyfriend?” Kurt said in disbelief, smiling broadly and clapping his hands, thrilled. Blaine nodded his head slowly, feeling the lie building up quickly inside him.

“Uh… yeah.” He said numbly, knowing his words not to be true, gritting his teeth together and scrunching his eyes up, feeling like slapping himself.

“That’s so great, Blaine.” Kurt slapped Blaine’s knee happily, and Blaine shook his hand at him dismissively, a fake smile plastered across his face. “I have so many questions! When? How? Who?” He said the last part rather suggestively, smirking and cocking his head, causing Blaine to blush. He needed to answer Kurt’s question, so forced the flush from his neck, ears, cheeks and to think quickly, come up with a story of this _fake_ boyfriend he had created in his head. 

“Well… we met over the holidays.” 

Lie.

“And… we got together for dinner just after Christmas.”

Lie.

“His name is…" _Think_. "Ben?” 

Lie.  _ What was he doing? _

“Ooh… Ben?” Kurt shoved Blaine playfully in the shoulder, smiling so genuinely it caused Blaine’s chest to grow heavy. Kurt really _didn't_ like him… no one acted  _ that _ happy for another’s love life if they had feelings… which Kurt apparently did not. 

“Mhm.” Blaine hummed guiltily, as Kurt continued to act so thrilled by his side. “Just to clear the air, I did uh- maybe have feelings for- for you before. But obviously, not anymore because of- of… _Ben_.” He stumbled over his words, feeling tears threaten his eyes and his lips turn dry.

“That’s so exciting Blaine… really. I can’t wait to meet him.” Kurt squealed, getting to his feet happily and backing up toward the group of guys, who were still clustered around the screen, ignoring everything around them, supposedly. 

“Yeah- uh… great.” Blaine said bitterly, and as Kurt finally turned away, hit his knee in annoyance and groaned.  _ God… what was he thinking? Boyfriend? He didn’t have a boyfriend.  _

He had to blame himself, of course he did… there were so many other ways to get around that situation. 

_Deny it… just tell the truth… run away?_

He was an idiot, an idiot. He had made everything worse. Not only did Blaine now definitely  _ not _ have Kurt, and was definitely not going to get Kurt, he had a fake boyfriend for God's sake.

Fuck. 

***   


“A boyfriend? Well, what did you say that for?” Flora sipped her tea with shaking hands, chuckling slightly from across the small, round table. Blaine furrowed his brow at the woman, having just ranted to her about his problems the night before, where had created this ridiculous lie and wanted to get the guilt off his chest. After seeing each other earlier in December, Blaine had taken it upon himself to start meeting up with her again, not only for her, but for himself. He liked talking to her. 

“Ergh… I know. What was I thinking?” Blaine said, rubbing his temple and tracing the rim of his tea cup. He surveyed the coffee shop around him, an elegant place, though the serenity of the cafe didn’t cool his nerves. 

“You weren’t thinking, you were stupid.” Flora smiled at him, and Blaine shook his head, fighting a chuckle. 

“What am I gonna do?” He asked helplessly, groaning and staring out the window, while the woman shrugged. 

“Well, you could phase it out.”

“Phase it out?” Blaine cocked his head, liking the sound of the idea she was proposing. 

“Yeah, phase it out. Just don’t mention the boyfriend, and if Kurt brings it up, brush it off.” He nodded slowly, thinking the idea over. 

“And then what?’

“Well in a couple weeks, you can just say you broke up.” That was good, that could work. Blaine pondered why he hadn’t thought that. 

“Yes, you’re right… that’s good.” Blaine said, rubbing his chin and nodding. The idea seemed perfect to fix the situation, but no feeling of enlightenment filled him at the prospect, no light feeling of a weight being lifted from his shoulders. The so genuinely thrilled look on Kurt’s face when he told him the boyfriend news had broken Blaine's heart, it was a look of relief. What had Blaine’s subconscious mind wanted when he said those words, _ ‘I have a boyfriend’ _ ...  for Kurt to be jealous? Was that it? - oh.

“What’s wrong?” Blaine knew Flora could read him like a book, and turned back to her, smiling sadly. 

“This sounds really awful… but I kinda want Kurt to be- I don’t know, jealous?” 

“Jealous?” It sounded bad when the word was repeated back to him.    


‘Yeah, that sounds really bad when I say it out loud.” He grimaced shrugging off his statement, hoping Flora would too, but instead the woman nodded her head knowingly. 

“You like the boy, Blaine. You're sixteen, everyone gets infatuated by someone when you’re young. It's how it works.”

“I know… I just,” Blaine started, smiling and looking down at the table. Kurt’s face, his laugh, his eyes swimming through his mind. He sighed. “I _really_ like him, Flora.” He chuckled nervously as he spoke, loving the thought of Kurt so much that despite his heart broken feeling he felt giddy, happy even, before he was brought back down to earth as Flora cleared her throat. She nodded at him, lips scrunched together and turned upward slightly in a smile. 

“Well if you like him-”

“Really like him.” Blaine corrected quickly, and her features softened. 

“Okay, really like him.” She said again, before continuing with that returned serious expression. “Then I say you don’t stop fighting.” Blaine looked at the woman before him and sighed, reaching across the table and taking her hand in his own. He loved her advice. 

“I’ve missed you, Flora.”

“I’ve missed you too, Blainers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh... bit of a twist?


	18. Sue Sylvester Shuffle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the football game in the actual episode is a Championship, but in this version it's only a Qualifier. This may not make sense now, but it will in future chapters ;)

The early morning sun was already well risen when Kurt walked into school that morning, and the spring grass shone like it had its own gentle glow from within. The air felt refrigerated, and Kurt rather enjoyed the crispness, it chilled him to the bone but awoke his brain. The halls were already bustling, and walking into Glee club had him hopeful of a good day, but that was until he felt his heart plummet at the sight of Dave Karofsky and his group of thugs sauntering into the choir room, cups of red slushie clasped in their hands. 

“So this is what the ladies lounge looks like on the inside.” One of them commented as they walked in, and Kurt felt his body stiff like cardboard, only forcing his limbs into movement when he saw the other letterman wearing members of the Glee club get to their feet and approached the doorway, where the Football players were still filing in from.

“This is the choir room, now put up your fists because you and I are going to do some dancing.” Sam spat, and Kurt felt hundreds of better comebacks swim through his head, but he appreciated his effort.

“No I got this, Sam.” Finn said calmly, and Kurt folded his arms next to Mike, as they exchanged a worried glance. 

“Coach Beiste told us to come. Where is she?”

“Watch it.” And with that, Beiste entered the room as she pushed past the jocks, expression set firm and still. “Everyone, have a seat.” 

“You too, guys.” said Mr Schue, who had suddenly appeared at the woman’s side, and Kurt found his way back to his seat, shooting daggers at Karofsky, who had recently shoved him into the lockers earlier that day. The boy met his eye, and held up his middle finger at him, which Kurt returned, only dropping it when Blaine reached out from the seat beside him and pulled him back, whispering words of revenge.

"Let it go, I’ll have a word with him later.” he said calmly, eyes and neck red with anger. Kurt smiled sadly, as he appreciated the gesture, but didn’t want Blaine to ever get hurt because of him.

“Thanks, but I'm not gonna let you do that.” Blaine only nodded back at Kurt, as they both turned their attention back to the teachers in front of them, who stood side-by-side, a mischievous glint in their eye. It was concerning. 

“All right, New Directions, let’s give a warm welcome to the newest members of Glee Club.” Mr Schue held his hand out in gesture towards the jocks sat on the right side of the room, and Kurt instinctively grasped Blaine’s shoulder in support, anger bubbling up inside him. Everyone began to shout angrily, screaming over the top of one another in protest. 

“What?” Kurt found himself screeching while struggling to get to his feet, and since Santana and Blaine were holding him back by the waist, he resorted to slumping back into his chair, clenching and unclenching his knuckles. The two cheerleaders were hissing at him to calm down, even though Kurt could tell that they were seething too. 

“Oh, hell to the no, Mr Schue!” Mercedes shouted, as Kurt backed her up with more angry accusations, leaning over and whispering in Santana’s ear his protests, and she hummed in agreement, both of them mouthing cuss words at the jocks, furious. 

“Hey! Come on!” Schue shouted to quieten everyone down, which he failed to do for a few moments, but the room eventually stilled. 

“Mr Schue, are you serious? These guys are dicks, they’re not joining Glee. I refuse!” Finn got to his feet while gesturing towards the guys, and Kurt felt himself join the tall boy too as he rose to his feet, Santana and Blaine too slow to stop him, and he began talking, countless events of their horrid attitude springing to his mind. 

“Need I remind you, Mr Schue, that these guys have slushied about every single one of us in this room multiple times, have vandalised Santana’s property more than once, and she can back me up on this…” Kurt looked to Santana, who nodded, snapping her fingers sassily and pointing to Kurt, mouthing “Get ‘em, girl.” Kurt resisted a smile at that as he continued. “....They’re massive jerks to the students at this school, and don’t get me started on their inability to think straight when it comes to common sense. They’re idiots, how do you expect them to learn a full scale dance routine or- or sing even?”

“I’d love to see you think _straight_ , Hummel.” Karofsky slurred, and Kurt contorted his features, jumping from the back row and lunging at the boy. 

“That’s it!” He reached out and clawed his nails at anything he could reach as he continued to make failed attempts to connect his fist to flesh. He felt Santana and Quinn there, holding his waist and pulling him back, so eventually gave up as they pinned him back into his seat, Kurt struggling against them through his rage. Karofsky’s nostrils flared, and his eyes were so piercing Kurt was sure they could burn out his jacket.

“Okay, everyone, calm down.” Mr Schue said, before regaining order and continuing. “I don’t disagree with you, Kurt. But I talked to Coach Beiste about it, and having the guys in here, as difficult as it may be for us, is an opportunity to show them that being in Glee Club is kind of cool… find some common ground.” Kurt glanced to his side to look at Blaine, and they shared a look, an eye roll to be more exact, smirking slightly to each other. 

“All of you are going to be in this Glee Club for one week, no exceptions.” Beiste said to the guys, as they all scoffed, shaking their heads dismally. 

“She’s bluffing - next week is the Qualifier game. Without us, she has no team.”

“With you, I have no team!” Kurt was glad for Coach standing up, as every word she said was true. They had been falling apart, the Titans that is, uncommunicative and sour towards each other. And though Kurt hated to be in such close contact with Karofsky, he wanted to win this game, and having them in Glee for one week meant that, he'd just have to suck it up.

The rest of the meeting continued much like that, shouting and glaring at each other, while Rachel and Puck sang a duet to ease the tension. It was a nice song, and though he could tell Finn was not enjoying it in the least, Rach and him had broken up recently after all, he enjoyed the distraction. However, after that a fight had ensued, a full on physical match between both sides, kicking and punching and screaming. Kurt had joined in, and once again Blaine had taken him by the waist and pulled him from the circle, telling him to _‘let it go’._

_Blaine._

He had been acting weird lately. After hearing about the news of this new boyfriend, Ben his name was, Kurt had been genuinely happy for him. He was so glad that the air between them was cleared, and they could just be friends now, best friends perhaps, as Kurt had found himself growing closer with the boy. But he had been acting odd ever since then. Once, Kurt had asked Blaine if he could see a picture of Ben, and the boy had flushed scarlett and muttered something about his boyfriend not liking his photo taken. Then, Kurt had asked if he could know a little more about the guy, and Blaine had literally run away. Not in the comical sense, he had just said _“I have to go, math class.”_ and shuffled off. It was weird, but whatever was going on, Kurt was just happy for his friend.

Blaine deserved to be happy. 

***

Blaine Anderson was having a relatively good day that Wednesday morning, he had gotten his results back for his Literature test and had aced it, which was a pleasing surprise, he didn't read as much as he should. As well as that, Glee rehearsal with the football guys decked out in full zombie makeup had gone very well, an added bonus. He felt nothing could shake his spirit, until Sue leaned out from her office door and called him inside

“Anderson, come here.” She had said, gesturing to the room. Blaine quirked his brow at her, yet followed her in, where the woman took a seat at her desk and glared at him.

“I have something for you that I am sure you will find... quite interesting." She said mysteriously, taking a sheet of paper from under the table and sliding it across the desk. He picked it up and examined it.

_Letter of Resignation : The New Directions_

“Letter of resignation?” Blaine read aloud, putting the paper back on her desk while returning to his folded arms stance. “What makes you think I’m going to resign from New Directions?”

“Oh sweet, gay, teenage Tom Selleck,” Sue began slowly, as Blaine rolled his eyes at the nickname. “I have news for you… Sandbags, Stretch Marks and innocent Brittany S Pierce have resigned from the Glee club.” Blaine’s eyes widened, and he felt his heartbeat quicken with increasing anger.

“They- they what?” He exclaimed, mouth agape. “How could they do that? After all we’ve been through? Those little... ergh. Does Mr Schue know? Does _Finn_ know? God, he's gonna flip. I've got to convince them to come back, if they think-”

“Stop… talking.” Sue sighed, rubbing her temple in irritation. “God, everytime you open your mouth it feels like a thousand gel-wearing knives are drilling into my skull and I just want to reach out and shove a sock down your throat just to soothe the pain.” 

Blaine glared at her angrily. 

“I'm not resigning from Glee." He said in finalisation, and Sue nodded sarcastically, her mouth twitching as thought for a moment.

"That Cheerios uniform has been quite the saviour hasn’t it, Young Burt Reynolds? Now, I have to ponder, how would you feel if I just…” She clicked her fingers for effect. “... Took it away?”

“And why would you do that?” Blaine asked sceptically, and Sue got to her feet from behind her desk and made her way over to him, perching on the table.

“Blaine, I am sure you are aware that the Qualifier game, where the Glee Club are yet again mashing up two brilliant songs and ruining them both in one swift musical sweep, is also the same night as the Cheerios Regional competition.” _Oh God… Blaine could see where this was going._ “You’re gonna have to choose… as Head Cheerleader our routine revolves around you, we can’t perform if you don’t come. So what’s it going to be, Tiny Sal Mineo? The Cheerios - a group you have been so devoted to for the past three years of your life, who have stuck by you through everything? Or The Glee Club?”

Blaine looked down in upset as he thought over his answer… he couldn’t leave Glee club. They had been the only people who had ever accepted and loved him when the world turned it's back. But the Cheerios had bought him his place at the top of the social hierarchy, his polyester uniform protected him, constantly.

After consideration, where he had taken a moment outside of her office to think, he eventually gave Sue his answer, and walking out of her office left him with a cold feeling. Blaine tried to thaw it with thoughts of other things, the thrill of a spotlight on his face, or the feeling of being lifted into the air by his fellow Cheerios while fans screamed around him. It helped. Eventually, he got to his locker and began to fiddle with his code, not really focusing on the numbers when his thoughts were so busy, and was only saved from himself as storming feet approached him with narrowed eyes and hands on hips.

“You _quit_ New Directions?” Kurt hissed loudly, anger obvious on his features. 

“Wha- how did you find out so fast?” 

“Mercedes overheard you and Sue talking, how could you?”

“I’m sorry, Kurt. Sue said we had too.” Blaine said, and Kurt blinked rapidly at him. 

“We?” _Oh no._

“Quinn, Britt and 'Tana did too.” Blaine admitted, and he immediately regretted ever speaking when Kurt’s mouth dropped agape and his eyes widened. 

“Oh my God! Are you serious?” He exclaimed incredulously. 

“Yes… they did.” He replied meekly, as Kurt knotted his arms together and shook his head sassily. 

“I don’t believe you, Blaine Devon Anderson.” Blaine’s heart rattled slightly, and he outwardly winced. 

“Uh oh, you used my full name.”

“Yeah I did... How could you do this? You spent weeks _begging_ me on joining that damn club, and now at the first sign of losing your Head Cheerleader position you bail?”

“Kurt-” Blaine tried, but Kurt continued nonetheless. 

“Is your precious crown on top of the food chain at this school and your _polyester_ uniform worth losing your friends?” That made Blaine’s knees weak, and he straightened his body, raising his eyebrows at the boy in front of him and pressing his lips together. 

“Losing my-? Kurt, don’t do that.” Kurt studied his shoes, resolutely avoiding Blaine’s eyes, head moving from side to side quickly. 

“I’m pissed.” he spat, and Blaine shuddered. 

“I can see that, but you’ve gotta hear me out. It was Cheerios or Glee, what was I supposed to do?”

“Quit Cheerios maybe? This is insane, I cannot count how many times I’ve listened to you, Britt, Tana and Quinn complain about how awful Coach Sue is! You literally have the opportunity right now to leave her, and what is it that’s stopping you? Your- your pride? The uniform? Social status-?”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” Kurt hissed, and Blaine opened his mouth to reply, but honestly, he didn’t have much of a reason. The uniform protected him from bullying, but in honesty, it didn’t cancel it out. He still endured cruel behaviour from bullies at the school, the uniform just lessened it. 

“That’s what I thought.” Kurt replied to Blaine’s silence, and before he had time to reply, the boy turned on his heel and stormed off in the opposite direction, leaving Blaine standing numbly, his heart rattling against his lungs. Kurt’s disappointed eyes burned his mind, making him want to march back into Sue’s office with his Cheerio uniform folded in a sealed box, ready for his resignation. But it was too late now, because he had already lost Glee club, and perhaps lost Kurt. 

***

“Ah, my eyes! It’s burning!” Karofsky screamed through gritted teeth, head under the shower and rubbing at the burning red dye that was sure to be itching at his pupil right about now. Kurt was doing the same, but complaining far less. He had been slashed a few times until now, and it was an extremely painful experience. Though, he never imagined that he would be slashed by the _hockey_ team of all people, with the rest of the Titans getting a share of the blow. 

“Just relax, it stops after a couple hours.” replied Finn tiredly.

“No freakin’ way I’m letting that happen again.”

“He’s in the first stage of loserdom: denial.” Artie said, and Kurt had to admit he was walking on thin ice with the subtle taunting. 

“No! I am not a loser. And I don’t sing and dance. I walk tall and carry a big stick!” 

Kurt stepped out from under the shower head and blinked rapidly, the blur in his eyes dying down. He wanted to say something to contribute to the conversation, but the pain drilling into his skin, his eyes, everywhere was so excruciating he could barely think straight. 

“Dude, relax… this is gonna be fine.” Finn tried, approaching Karofsky, who shook his head, nostrils flared aggressively. 

“Yeah, of course it is. 'Cause I’m quitting Glee Club.”

“No you’re not.” It was then that Coach Beiste walked into the locker rooms, and Kurt sighed in relief for her arrival. “Fact is, covered in ice and red dye number seven, you guys look more like a team than you ever have out on the field.”

“I don’t care, I’m out.”

“Oh _grow up_ , Karofsky!” Kurt’s mouth was open and shouting before he could stop himself, and by the time he had realised what he had actually said, the entire rooms eyes were on him, and it looked like he had to continue talking, but he had nothing to say.

“What did you just say, Hummel?” Karofsky sneered, shooting knives at Kurt with a glare. Kurt panicked, but remained nonchalant on the outside, pressing his lips together and stepping forward, the locker room still obscured in his vision.

“I said grow up… you’re out here acting like dancing to a song in front of the whole school is going to damage your reputation, like it’ll make you seem weak or- or gay. But the truth is people don’t like you, they only find you intimidating, scary even. You’re not popular, not in the likable sense… You think you are because everyone knows your name and-and they flinch when you walk down the hall. But honestly, if anything, performing at the halftime show will only increase your popularity, you’ll be a more likeable person… all of you will.” Kurt gestured to the rest of the room, who had fallen into icy silence. He was talking slowly, as if the speech he was giving to the locker room had been pre rehearsed, when in reality he was just speaking his thoughts as they came to him. “I don’t get why you take such joy in hurting people, Karofsky. I see that as such a pointless waste of energy, it is no way to live. But you still do it, and for what? In ten years High school is gonna be gone, and scaring people into submission isn’t gonna work anymore. It’s time to start living life like an adult now, because that’s what we’ll all be soon. Football and friends like the ones you have aren’t gonna be enough, and that red letterman jacket won’t protect you. Which is why I’ll say it again… grow the _fuck_ up.” 

Kurt sighed deeply as he finished, breaking eye contact with Karofsky and turning back to the shower, taking a towel off the rack and drying his face. Karofsky glared at him with tensed features, and while his little speech seemed to have hit the other guys in soft spots, judging off their meaningful looks, it hadn’t quite done the same for Dave, at least not on the outside. Finn, Mike, Artie and Sam all nodded in acknowledgement, looking thankful for his outburst. Kurt felt he should be proud of himself almost, but Karofksy looked like he was about to smash something, so instead he just felt scared.

“Whatever… I’m not doing it.” He hissed, turning to march from the room, but Beiste stopped him from advancing.

“Then you’re off the team.”

“No way.” Karofsky sighed, looking chilled to the bone. “If we all quit, you barely have enough guys to play next week. It’s the Qualifier game, you’re not gonna throw it away.”

“Try me.” Beiste snarled, taking a threatening step toward the boy. 

“Don’t do this. If we stand together, and we do the halftime show, we can win this game and be kings at this place.” Finn said desperately, and Kurt walked forward from his spot in the corner of the locker rooms to situate himself by Sam’s side.

“Good luck with that.” That was when Karofsky stalked from the locker room, and Kurt closed his eyes with irritation as the rest of the Footballers filed out, sparing any Glee members. It angered him, and when they were left alone in the locker room with just the guys and Beiste, a disappointed silence fell over them, a silence that lasted so long Kurt was almost bored. He couldn’t believe they had quit just like that, he felt infuriated. However, after a few more moments, Sam lifted his hands and began to clap, eyes looking into Kurts. This wave of admiration was soon followed by Beiste, and then Mike, Puck, Finn and Artie. They were all banging their hands together, eyes on Kurt and smiles on their faces.

“Nice speech, man. Really put that guy in his place.” Finn clapped Kurt on the back, smiling, and they fist bumped.

“Can’t even lie, got me thinking, you know? ‘Bout the future and everything.” Said Puck, smiling sadly as everyone hummed in agreement. 

“Well said, Hummel, well said.” Beiste acknowledged, patting Kurt on the shoulder and winking at him. “However that doesn’t change the fact we’ve only got six guys on the team and the game is tomorrow.” she said, and everyone sighed in defeat, feeling helpless and beginning to leave the room, before an idea sparked in Kurt.

“Wait, not all hope is lost.” he said, beckoning for everyone to come back. The seven of them huddled up in a circle, replicating a game talk, beginning to discuss. “We can still do this, I remember reading something in the rule book-”

“You _read_ the rulebook?” Puck asked, and Kurt rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Noah, I did. And you won’t be as judgemental in a minute when I save your ass.” He countered back, before continuing. “Anyway, we only need like three more people to compete. High School regulations allow us to play a couple guys short if we need to.” Kurt explained, and grinned at his ingenious as Coach Beiste’s head nodded and it looked as though her brain was stirring with ideas.

“You’re a genius, Hummel. A genius! Right guys, let’s get a signup sheet hung up and go round asking anyone we cut last year to see if they want to play. Come on, let’s go! We can still win this thing!”

***

The stadium was screaming, so loud Kurt felt a headache beginning to form in the back of his skull. His helmet clutched to his head tightly as he observed his surroundings. The night was dark and the cold air caused steam to escape the partition in his lips each time he exhaled. The team was all ready to go, including the girls. Somehow, they had been recruited and were ready to play. 

For this game, Kurt wasn’t the kicker. Due to the smaller amount of players, Coach felt it was best he be on the pitch for the whole of the game, as power in numbers was very uneven compared to the other team. Kurt thought for a moment to recall their name, it was the ‘Dalton Academy Blackbirds’. They had competed against their Glee Club at Sectionals, where they had drawn… all the more motivation to beat them at this game.

“You ready, dude?” Finn said, clapping his hands together as he approached Kurt, who looked up from adjusting his boots. 

“Ready.” He got to his feet and high fived Finn, both grimacing in worry. Kurt looked over the taller boy’s shoulder to where the girls were preparing. Lauren Zizes and Tina were doing a pretty good job with warming up, and they’re enthusiasm and determination gave Kurt far more hope in their chances. However, Rachel and Mercedes looked lost, out of place even. Kurt had to worry, they couldn’t lose this game. He looked around him, as if in search for Quinn or Blaine to be there with words of encouragement, or Santana to give him her criticisms, or Brittany to simply ease his nerves, but they weren’t there. They had bailed. “I can’t believe the girls aren’t here, or Blaine.” Kurt said to Finn, who nodded sadly at him.

“Me neither… But we can’t let that distract us. We’ll deal with them later, okay?” He said, taking Kurt by the shoulders and shaking him firmly. 

“Okay.” He confirmed, and Finn gave him one final pat on the shoulder, before stalking off to the huddle. 

A few moments later, Kurt was all laced up and ready to go, so he walked out onto the field with an air of purpose - they could do this. The whistle blew and Finn got the ball, there was running and Kurt went to tackle a guy, surprising himself with how easily he took him down, perhaps underestimating his own strength. He knew his father was in the crowd watching, so despite the other team gaining possession of the ball and scoring, he felt proud of himself, and hoped Burt was too. 

However, despite the thrill of the game and the wind whipping his face, they came to half time with zero points, Dalton in the lead. Kurt sighed and kicked the ground in frustration, making his way over to Finn, who was talking with Rachel in a heated debate.

“Give it up, Finn. Our only shot at redemption right now is to kick _butt_ at the halftime show.” Rachel sighed, eyebrows furrowed to the centre of her face, seemingly helpless, though Finn’s mind looked like it was turning. 

“Sam!” He said suddenly, and the blonde came jogging over. “I need you to play quarterback for the rest of the half.” That surprised Kurt, Finn once told him he would die before giving up his quarterback position.

“Okay.” Sam replied meekly, apparently in similar shock.

“Puck, when the half ends, you gotta go convince Karofsky and the rest of the guys to do the halftime show with us.”

“How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

“Figure it out.” Finn said, before turning on Kurt, a small smile on his face. “Kurt, I need you to go and find Blaine, Quinn, Britt and Santana before their bus for Sue’s Regionals competition leaves.” Kurt began shaking his head before Finn even finished his statement, crossing his arms and expression turning sour. 

“It’s helpless Finn, they’re going, Blaine made that very clear.” he said, spitting his words out with bitter irritation. Finn exhaled.

“I know you’re mad at them for what they did, especially Blaine, but we’ve gotta push past that right now, we need them.” He didn’t answer, thinking it over as a smile tugged at Finn’s mouth. “You can’t have a Football game without Cheerleaders.” Kurt smirked slightly at that, and shoved Finn’s shoulder playfully. 

“Fine… I’ll see what I can do.” he finished, and Finn looked relieved, as if not all hope had been lost. 

“Thank you.” he said softly, before turning back to the rest of the team with a determined expression .“Okay... let’s do this.”

***

Blaine felt guilty. Here he was, boarding the bus to Sue’s Regionals competition, leaving the Glee club and the people he truly cared about behind. He hated himself for it, but this wasn’t just about his place on the social pyramid, the polyester uniform protected him, he couldn’t lose it or he’d have nothing. However, Blaine didn’t want to overthink, so to entertain himself he walked over to Quinn, Britt and 'Tana, who were staring at the cannon Sue was planning on flying Brittany out with concern.

“I’m gonna die.” Brittany said, and Blaine patted her comfortingly on the back, nodding slightly, as there was a high chance this particular trick wouldn’t go well. 

“It’ll be worth it.” Santana said lamely, and to no one's surprise the others didn't reply, because knew too it definitely wouldn’t be.

“Guys! Stop!” Blaine and the girls all spun round simultaneously to see Kurt Hummel running up to them, still decked out in his Football jersey and helmet held slack in his hand. Judging by his hair sticking up at all different angles and his flushed cheeks, the team must have just finished the first half, meaning Kurt was spending his break running after them.

Blaine was momentarily stunned by Kurt's rugged beauty but reeled himself back in.

“What are you doing here, Lady Hummel?” Santana snapped, hands in her pockets and head cocked to the side.

“Saving your assess, that’s what.” Kurt sighed, looking at the four of them with a glimmer of hope, and Blaine raised his brow, wondering what the boy was up too. 

“We’re going to the competition, you’re not gonna change our minds.” Quinn said, and Kurt shook his head.

“Do you even hear yourselves? This isn't you. I’ve seen you four on stage and you love it, your happy. But watching your Cheerios routines doesn’t have the same effect, and I’m sorry but those fake smiles don’t work on me anymore, I know you too well. Be honest, if you didn’t think it would cost you your popularity you’d quit within a heartbeat."

“You say all that but- but what would you do if Beiste threatened to take your letterman jacket away, huh? You’d quit Glee, that’s what.” Santana interjected, and Kurt smiled slightly at her, as if he had been awaiting that response and had the perfect answer planned out. 

“I would never have to make that decision because Coach Beiste cares for the team and for the students, she would never make anyone choose. Sue would. If Brittany injures herself with that canon, she’s not gonna give a crap. As long as she walks away with that first place trophy in her hands, she’ll be happy. Do you really want that?" Kurt paused for a moment, as the four seemed to look down at the floor guiltily in thought. “Please.” he tried desperately one last time, and Quinn looked up from behind her lashes carefully. 

“Okay.” she replied in almost a whisper, and he grinned at her. 

“Okay?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.” Kurt jumped slightly in celebration, causing Blaine to grow crimson at the cheeks.

“Santana, are you in?” he asked, and the latina nodded. 

“Screw her, that bitch brought this upon herself.” Santana said, and they high fived, bar Blaine, who began to back away. He tried to be as subtle as possible as he dragged his feet towards the bus, but Kurt jogged forward and blocked his path.

“Hey, where are you going?” he asked gently, and Blaine shook his head, not daring to meet his gaze.

“I can’t do this, Kurt.” Blaine whispered so meekly he was frankly surprised he was audible.

“Yes, you can. That uniform isn’t all you have-”

“But what if it is!” Blaine snapped, and Kurt looked taken aback. Blaine was breathing heavy now, and he felt tears prick his eyes, but fought them. “What if- what if without the Cheerios I’m nothing. What if people start thinking they can hurt me because I- because Sue isn’t there to destroy them if they do.” 

“Then I’ll be there to help you.” Kurt stepped forward so he was inches from Blaine’s face, eyes warm and comforting, but with a hint of urgency. 

“But that’s no way to live… in fear.” Blaine tried, feeling disappointed himself, like he was weak.

“Quitting the Cheerios doesn’t show fear, it shows courage. And I promise you, you’ll be all the better because of it.” Kurt reasoned, and Blaine looked up at the boy, eyes swollen and features soft. “You’re better than this, Blaine. You don’t need Sue or even Glee to know that you’re talented, you just are.” He wanted to leave, he wanted to take Kurt’s hand and go to the Football game. But he didn’t know whether he had the strength.

“Bus leaves in five, ladies!” Sue called suddenly, and Blaine peered over Kurt’s shoulder to see the woman standing, hands on hips and looking determined.

“We quit Cheerios!” Quinn said proudly, and Blaine saw Kurt’s lips twitch with a smile slightly, though he was resolutely awaiting his answer with a serious expression. 

“You can’t quit Cheerios. It’s blood in, blood out. Now get your sweet little cans on that bus.”

“Yeah but we still quit.” Santana retorted, and Blaine heard from behind him the girls beginning to walk away, and Kurt turned back to him.

“And what about you, Blaine? What do you say?” It was pitiful how hopeful Kurt looked, and in truth Blaine wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

“I don’t-” He started, but Kurt quickly interjected,

“I know you... don't do anything because Sue tells you too.

“I-”

“Blaine, look at me.” Kurt grabbed Blaine’s shoulders and turned him so they were facing each other. “Courage.” He whispered quietly, and Blaine found himself shaking his head in worry. He was conflicted.

Sue had gotten him through the past three years of his High school career, rather successfully at that. But Glee was what he loved, his passion. Could he throw that away? The gentle roaring of Sue’s bus engine seemed to be drilling into his skull, calling him to it. He needed to protect himself, and if his polyester uniform did that, then so be it. 

“I can’t do this.” Blaine said, shrugging off Kurt’s comforting arms and walking backward towards Sue. “I’m sorry.”

“Blaine, please. Think.” Kurt pleaded, looking practically crushed with disbelief. Blaine hated the look on his face, it broke his heart, but he had made his decision. 

“I- I am thinking. This is what I want.” Blaine stopped walking to address Santana, Quinn and Britt, who looked furious. “You guys think you know me, but you don’t, no one in Glee does. I love the Cheerios and I’m loyal to them. That’s my final decision.” And with that, he turned and began to ascend the stairs up to the bus, where the rest of the Cheerleaders sat, talking animatedly. He heard Kurt swear loudly from behind him, and turned round to face the boy. His nostrils were flared and his face was red, not with exhaustion but with fury. His eyes were narrowed and he looked like he might just punch something.

“You’ve changed, Blaine Anderson! I don’t know whether it’s the new boyfriend or your damn ego, but you’ve changed.” he spat harshly, and Blaine felt tears prick his eyes as Kurt turned and ran off toward the stadium with the girls, who all gave him one last disappointed look, before following. Blaine wanted to get off the bus right there and then, but it was too late, the driver had started the engine and they were moving forward. He pressed his hand to the window, leaving a print there, as the school disappeared from sight, until it was just an obscured mess of light in the distance. Nothing. 

It felt finalized as they slid onto the main road that evening, and Blaine wanted to curl up and cry. He had lost Glee club. He had lost his friends. He had lost Kurt. 

***

“We won! We won!” Finn cried with happiness, removing his helmet and looking up at the sky, raising the trophy above his head as the team encircled him, hugging and screaming their praise. Kurt couldn’t quite believe it either, somehow they had pulled it off. 

“Titans! Titans! Titans!” The stadium chanted, and Kurt smiled brightly up at the sky, stadium lights shining down on his face. He felt so insanely happy. Burt had immediately come down from the stands after they won and enveloped him in a big hug, he was so proud. 

“You did it, kid! You really did it! That was incredible!” he had shouted, and Kurt had smiled into his father’s shoulder, tears of joy pricking at his eyes. Then of course the girls had gone ape shit after the winning touchdown. 

“Kurt! That was so great!” Followed by them enveloping him in a group hug, filled with lots of smiles and kisses to go round. Those were the types of congratulations from people Kurt was expecting, but what he was not prepared for was to be removing the thick, gluey zombie makeup on the sidelines, and to have a mysterious player from the opposite team approach him, smile wide with not jealousy or anger, but of curiosity. 

“I’m so glad you’re taking off all that makeup. It would have been weird for me to flirt with a zombie.” he said, smirking like an ass. 

Kurt smirked back. “Flirt? Since when?”

The boy stepped closer, and Kurt took the opportunity to study him. His face was well defined, with a sharp jaw and angular cheekbones. He had a lean build, a little taller than Kurt, and the navy and red Dalton football jersey left much to be imagined. “Since I noticed the awfully cute guy on the opposite team.” he held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Sebastian.”

Kurt shook it, blushing. “I’m Kurt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> teehee


	19. Sebastian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I have so many ideas for the Sebastian storyline that I can't wait to share with y'all!!  
> 

_“Hi. I’m Sebastian.”_

_Kurt shook it, blushing. “I’m Kurt.”_

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I was kinda surprised how easily you tackled me in the first half.” 

“That was you? I felt so proud of myself.” Sebastian chuckled good-naturedly, smiling in a confident manner. 

“Yeah, you sort of caught my eye after that. Had me distracted.” The boy flicked his hair with a cock of the head. He was awfully confident, Kurt noticed. Although he questioned how deep that confidence ran. He was certain that the mask he maintained at school was purely skin deep, surely Sebastian’s was the same.

“You’re forward.” Kurt acknowledged matter-of-factly, a smile lacing his words. 

“Sorry, I get like this.” His outward confidence wavered slightly, and he chuckled to himself, scratching the back of his neck.

“Don’t worry, it’s endearing.” Kurt flirted, and Sebastian raised a hopeful eyebrow 

“Is it now?”

“Mhm.” he hummed, checking himself in the pocket mirror he had been using to examine his face, feeling satisfied all the zombie makeup was off, and stood so he was at eye level with Sebastian. 

“Well in that case I would love to be even more forward. You know, since you like it so much.” He smirked at Kurt, who didn’t even bother in hiding the blush at this. 

“And how do you propose in doing that?” Kurt flirted back, stepping forward slightly with a suggestive glint in his eye. 

“I’ll give you my number.” he tried. Kurt smirked and nodded, taking a slip of paper from his pocket and a half broken pencil, scribbling out some digits. Once he was finished, he handed the slip back to him with a wink. “See you around Kurt…”

“Hummel.” Kurt finished for him, and he nodded, shaking his hand. The boy’s grip was firm and strong. 

“Smythe. Sebastian Smythe.” And with that, _Sebastian Smythe_ released his hold and retreated back to his own football team, who were all looking thoroughly miserable. And as he walked away, when Sebastian seemed to have thought that Kurt was no longer watching him, jumped about four feet in the air and punched the sky happily, his silhouette shining in the moonlight glow.

***

“You met someone?” Quinn shrieked excitedly as she, Kurt and Santana strolled down the hall that Monday morning. The day was bright, and after their resignation from the Cheerios, the two girls were wearing casual clothes. So far, Kurt was loving their individual styles.

“Oh my God, Quinnie. He is such a dreamboat.” he giggled. “And he’s so forward, which I really didn’t think I’d be into, cause you know, I love that romantic shit. But I don’t know it kinda-?”

“Turned you on?” Santana interjected from his other side. 

“Honestly, a little bit.” Kurt laughed, and he faintly heard Santana whisper _‘wanky’_ from his right, but just shoved her playfully in the shoulder and turned his attention back to Quinn. 

“That is so great, Kurt. What’s his name?”

“Sebastian.” 

“Hot.” said Tana, and Kurt began to feel slightly uncomfortable, though he enjoyed the gentle teasing. So instead, changed the subject to something that had genuinely been lingering on his mind for a while. 

“Anyway, did you hear how Sue’s Regionals competition went last week? Did they suffer a terrible loss and Blaine is currently feeling extremely guilty for abandoning Glee?” Kurt spat Blaine’s name as he said it, still feeling mad at the boy for his disloyalty to the New Directions. 

“Yeah, basically. The Board of Directors found out about her plans to launch Britt out of a canon and Sue’s been suspended for the rest of the season.”

“Sucks for her.” Kurt chuckled, and the three of them high fived, walking in comfortable quiet for a moment. Suddenly, as they rounded a corner, Santana piped up.

“Have you told Blaine about this Sebastian guy then?” she asked, and Kurt shook his head quickly.

“No. I’m still pissed at him.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re giving the poor guy the silent treatment.” Quinn reasoned quietly, grimacing at him.

“I’m just giving him his space. Besides, Blaine doesn’t need us, he’s got his _boyfriend_ to hang out with.” Kurt said as a throwaway comment, and was more than a little surprise when the girls turned to him with incredulous eyes and mouths agape. 

“Wait- hold up. His boyfriend?” Santana shrieked, ignoring stares from onlookers at her sudden increase in volume. 

“Yeah, Ben I think his name was.” Kurt replied, stopping at his locker to fiddle with the code. 

“Blaine has a boyfriend?” Quinn asked, far more calmly than Santana, but with equal levels of shock.

“Yeah, he hasn’t told you?”

“No.” they both said in disbelieving unison. Kurt was confused as well, since he wasn’t sure why Blaine wouldn’t have told Quinn and Santana about his boyfriend, they were all friends after all. But then again, Kurt was finding Blaine hard to trust recently, though that seemed a bit of a stretch. However, bringing himself back into reality, Kurt realised Quinn and Santana were sharing a look where both their eyes widened at the same time, as if speaking telepathically, before running down the hall in panic… or excitement? Kurt couldn't really tell. 

“We need to go!” they shouted over their shoulders, sprinting quickly. 

“Wha- guys?” Kurt called to them, standing dumbly in the middle of the hall and looking after them, until a low voice he recognised from behind him piped up. 

“Hey.” it spoke, and Kurt spun round, to see none other than Sebastian Smythe, leaning against the wall, a motorcycle held slack in his hand. He wore a tight leather jacket and his hair was ruffled. He looked good.

“Hi, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in school?” Kurt asked, walking toward Seb, who smiled at him. The two had spent the previous night texting non stop, and before either had realised, it was 3am, and they both eventually agreed to go to bed. However, though they had agreed to stop talking as both had school the following day, Kurt’s night had been spent thinking of the tall boy, and he hoped that Sebastian’s was too, but doubted it. 

“I don’t have to be there for another...” He brought his watch up to check. “... One hour. Besides, I needed to stop by. I had to fill out a couple forms.” he said casually, and Kurt cocked his head to the side in worry. 

“For what?”

“This kid on our team got injured in the game last week, it’s an insurance thing. His rich ass parents are getting a lawyer involved… anyway.” Sebastian commented nonchalantly, and though Kurt’s concerns seemed greater than his, he brushed them off. Instead, he just smiled and shrugged. 

“Well, it’s good to see you.”

“Yeah, you too.” There was a pause for a moment where they gazed at each other. Their text conversations the previous night had been mostly light hearted, but there had been a good few exchanges where the two had discussed the prospect of Kurt coming out the whole school and to the Football team, and Sebastian had been surprisingly helpful. He was confident, yes, but clearly not afraid to show his softer side. Kurt liked that about him. “Uh… actually I also stopped by because I wanted to ask you something. I didn’t really want to do it over the phone, it felt like a bit of a dick move, but…” Kurt felt his heart flutter as Seb spoke, hoping that what he was imagining the boy may ask in his head was soon to become reality. “Do you wanna go out sometime?”

***

There were so many reasons as to why Blaine Anderson should have been in a good mood that fine morning. So many. The sun above was shining despite the icing winds of February, he had no homework due for that day, and the scrambled eggs he had whipped up for himself that morning had been the definition of perfection. But then again, there were so many reasons why he deserved to be in a bad mood. The Cheerios had lost Regionals, he wasn’t in Glee anymore, and Kurt was giving him the silent treatment. He hated them not speaking, it was utterly awful.

“Blaine Devon Anderson!” Someone was calling his name down the halls of McKinley High rather angrily, so Blaine turned at his beckoning to see where the source of the cry came from. As he did so, marching down the hall were Quinn and Santana, faces quite frankly outraged. 

“What the actual fuck?” Santana shrieked as the two neared him, grabbing a hold of his uniform and shoving him into the girls bathroom. Blaine struggled against their grip, but they were both surprisingly strong. 

“Ah- gerroff me!” he grunted, helpless, as he was manhandled harshly into one of the stalls. It was then, when the door was locked and the three were standing inches from each other in a miniscule bathroom stall, that Blaine was released. “What are you doing? Let me out!” he hissed at them, but Quinn interrupted him.

“When did you plan on telling us you had a boyfriend?” she demanded in a half-whisper, arms folded and head cocked to the side. Her eyes were burning, and Blaine panicked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He lied, knowing if he told them the truth they would either tell Kurt or criticize his methods, neither option he had the time or effort to deal with. 

“Yes you do. Kurt told us that you told him that you have a boyfriend.” Santana spoke rapidly, and Blaine took a second to comprehend what she was saying. Eventually, after deciphering her sentence in his head like a math equation, he sighed in defeat.

“I don’t have a boyfriend-”

“But Kurt said-”

“Hear me out.” Blaine silenced Quinn, giving her a pleading look, before continuing. “I don’t have a boyfriend, but Kurt thinks I do.” Santana gave him a puzzled look.

“What are you talking about?” she questioned, and Blaine contorted his features in frustration as to what he was admitting. 

“Okay, a couple weeks ago Kurt asked me whether I liked him, because before the holidays we had a little moment together and we almost kissed. Anyway, I panicked and told him I _used_ to have a crush on him, but I didn’t anymore because-”

“Because you had a boyfriend.” Quinn finished for him, nodding in comprehension of his story, looking troubled. She reached out and slapped him on the arm. “Blaine? What the hell? There are so many other ways you could have handled that situation!” 

“What are you gonna do now? You have a _fake_ boyfriend instead of a real one, that should be Kurt by now.” Santana pointed towards the door in gesture as she spoke, and Blaine plummeted his head into his hands in frustration. Hearing the girls describe his situation made it feel so much worse.

“I know, I screwed up.” he sighed, and Quinn shook her head.

“You did, big time. Because while you were at Sue’s Regionals competition last Friday, Kurt was chatting it up with a hot football player on the opposite team.” she said, and Blaine released his face from his grasp with a horrified look.

“What?” he asked hoarsely, voice shaking. 

“You better believe it, Anderson. Now get your act together, because-” Blaine didn’t allow Santana to finish her sentence, as he was already squeezing past them and wiggling the lock to open the door. He was eventually freed from the claustrophobia, and sprinted from the bathroom, quickly apologising to lingering students as he did. As he ran down the hall, ignoring the looks and jeers he received from having just emerged from the girls bathroom, he scanned everywhere for Kurt. He needed to apologize, to fix their friendship before it was too late.

He turned a corner, skidding on the recently cleaned floors, and caught sight of Kurt, standing by the entrance. The early morning sunlight cast a sweet halo around his head, and his skin glowed in it’s aura, he was giggling in that cute way where he covered his hand up to his mouth and got crinkles around his eyes. The only problem was, he was laughing at something a tall and annoyingly good looking guy had said, who leant up against a wall talking with Kurt. Before Blaine knew what he was doing, his feet were moving towards them with profound interest.

“Kurt!” he called, far too cheerily for it to be natural. Kurt didn’t seem to hear him, Blaine tried again. “Kurt, hey.” he spoke louder, and finally approached the pair, glancing from him to the stranger standing adjacent to him, who had a smug, possessive smirk plastered across his face. Blaine immediately didn’t like him. 

“Blaine, hi.” Kurt muttered, and judging from his tone, he was still mad. “Uh… this is Sebastian.” he introduced after a while, gesturing to the boy - _Sebastian_ \- standing by him, and Blaine felt like he had interrupted a conversion, since Sebastian looked slightly pissed off at his arrival. 

“Nice to meet you.” he said in what sounded like false kindness, though Kurt didn’t seem to notice, and held his hand out for him to shake. 

“Likewise.” Blaine took it, and did not deny to himself that he did squeeze it harder than necessary. 

“So, are you a friend of Kurt’s?” Seb asked, shoving his hand back into his pocket, of his… _ergh, leather jacket. Pretentious._

“Yes... _friend_." he replied bitterly, and a slightly uncomfortable silence fell over the three of them, and Sebastian kept glancing from Kurt to Blaine with raised eyebrows. His hand, that had once been rested upon the pale wall in a flirty way, was not folded at his front awkwardly. 

“Ok… well, I better run.” he said, turning away from them slightly, and only now Blaine realised he was holding a motorbike helmet. It was deeply irritating. If Kurt was going to date anyone, he hoped it wasn’t someone who he could hop onto the back of a motorbike with and go out to some secluded spot to make-out. _Gross_. “Pick you up at five Kurt?” 

“Sounds great.” Kurt replied, and Blaine looked over at him. _Pick him up? For what?_

“Cool. Uh… bye.” Sebastian said nervously, and Blaine hated the fact that the taller _smirky_ _meerkat_ blushed, before swaggering away from them both and out the door. 

“What is he picking you up for?” Blaine asked as nonchalantly as possible, but couldn’t hide the fact that his voice was shaking. 

“A date, if you must know.” 

“A date?”

“Yes, a date.” said Kurt shortly, and Blaine trained his eyes on him, full of regret. He felt wrong to stand there in his Cheerios uniform, when he could be wearing his signature bowties and chequered shirts with skintight jeans if he had just done the right thing and quit, but he had made a rash decision. 

“You’re still mad at me.” Blaine said before he could stop himself, and Kurt’s expression didn’t waver. 

“I am. You’ve been acting really weird lately, and literally _just_ ditched the Glee club after telling me all that shit about how great it was. You’re such a hypocrite sometimes.” he spat, and Blaine stepped forward slightly to make his next point. 

“Kurt, you know why I couldn’t quit Cheerios. I need this uniform.”

“So did Quinn, so did Santana... even Brittany.”

“It’s different for me.” he pleaded, and Kurt’s eyes moved from their place on the floor to meet his, soft, and what Blaine hoped was forgiving. 

“I know it is, I know.” he admitted, and Blaine felt a glimmer of hope that perhaps not all was lost in their friendship. “But we’re both gonna get crap from people whether we have a uniform on or not. We’re not gonna have these teams forever, and we’ll have to face bigoted jerks out in the world where we can’t just go running to Sue or- or Mr Schue.”

Blaine had to admit, Kurt spoke the truth, and he did know that the Cheerios protected him in high school, but he wouldn’t have them when he went to college, or got his first job. He was even more angry with himself because they got disqualified from the Regionals competition anyway, so if he hadn’t stayed it wouldn’t have made a difference. He felt guilty. 

“I’m sorry.” Blaine admitted, and looked at Kurt sadly, who, to his surprise, looked back. 

“Me too.” he admitted in barely a whisper, and Blaine furrowed his brow, despite the fact he felt so relieved that he was being forgiven. 

“What are you sorry for?” he asked, and Kurt sighed sadly, gazing at the floor and hands shoved into his letterman jackets pocket. 

“I haven’t been a very good friend. I’m pissed about the Glee thing, but I do see why you did it. I’ve been insensitive, and I’m sorry.” Blaine was so overcome with emotion and pure gratitude for Kurt’s forgiveness, that he stepped forward and wrapped the boy, who was still looking at his shoes in upset, in his arms. He hugged him tight, and felt so relieved when Kurt squeezed him back. 

“Thank you, thank you so much.” Blaine murmured softly into Kurt’s shoulder, and the boy hummed quietly in acknowledgment, only hugging him tighter. When they eventually parted, Blaine felt Kurt's absence as a cold wind, wishing he could keep him wrapped around him like a well worn sweater. He looked into Kurt’s eyes, eyes that were shining glassily, soft and kind. There was silence for a moment, before Blaine shook away the sentimental quiet and tightened his satchel around his shoulder, folding his arms stiffly.

“So… Sebastian, huh?” At his mention, Kurt’s eyes lit up, almost heartbreakingly so, and Blaine forced himself to plaster a smile across his face, though it wavered far too obviously. 

“Oh my God, Blaine! Giving you the silent treatment was a nightmare, I _literally_ had to refrain from texting you about him the moment we met! He is _amazing_. I have so many ideas for double dates that we could go on.”

“Double dates?” he repeated, and Kurt nodded quickly, excited. 

“Yeah, with you and Ben.” _Oh right… Ben_ . “I’m dying to meet this boyfriend of yours, so no more excuses as to why I can’t.” Blaine nodded, hoping to hide the awkwardness he was feeling at his lie, it being evident Kurt had not forgotten it. “ _Ah_ , I’m so glad we’re friends again. You’re gonna love Seb, Blaine.” Intentionally, Blaine zoned the boy out, something he would not usually do, finding Kurt’s gushing far too painful to listen to. Quinn and Santana had been right, while he was at Regionals with Sue, Kurt was out meeting his future boyfriend.

He continued to gush, on and on about Seb _this_ , Seb _that_ . A few words Blaine caught were _‘dreamy’_ and _‘handsome’_ , and they just made a green, roaring monster in Blaine’s stomach hiss.

He didn’t even like Sebastian all that much. Of course Blaine didn’t have much to go off of, it was probably rather prejudice of him, but he didn’t like the leather jacket or the smirky confidence or the way he leaned up against the wall and openly flirted with Kurt all confidently. And Kurt was falling for it, and the way he blushed and gushed about him made Blaine even more mad. As well as this, though he would never admit it, Blaine was mostly upset that Sebastian was now his only _real_ competition. He wasn’t that old family friend of Kurt’s they had met last Christmas, nor some random celebrity crush. This was a handsome guy who showed genuine interest in Kurt, and had taken the bold step in asking him out. 

In transparent honesty, Blaine was simply jealous. _Very_ jealous.

***

Sebastian had picked Kurt up in a _motorcycle._ Yeah. A fucking _motorcycle_. It was so hot. He was wearing jeans that hugged his ass delectably, and a tight fitted, long sleeved shirt. Kurt was very excited, and was eyeing up the motorcycle with interest as Sebastian watched. 

“Scared, Hummel?” he had smirked.

“Hell no, Smythe. Bring it on.”

They rode out to a drive in movie theatre and watched Star Wars, Sebastian claimed to love the movie franchise but spent the whole time sneaking furtive glances in Kurt’s direction. He was only there to make out, an idea Kurt wasn’t exactly opposed to, but Sebastian would have to try a lot harder than that.

In order to forget his urges, Kurt actually focused on the movie in front of him, which he surprisingly enjoyed. He never thought Star Wars would be his thing, but Harrison Ford was a total hottie and the droids were really cool. 

After the movie, they rode to a secluded restaurant that Sebastian said served the best pizza. When they arrived, the guy actually spoke to the Italian owner in his _native tongue_ and introduced Kurt as his _appuntamento hot._ Kurt could guess the meaning roughly.

“You know Italian?” he asked in a low tone as they were being led to their table. 

“Yeah, my mom is Italian so we speak a lot of it around the house.” Sebastian pulled out a chair and gestured for Kurt to sit in it. “Your chair, sir.”

Kurt smiled mischievously. “This is a lot of effort for a first date.” he mused. “So what are you? Really into me, or just pretentious?”

Sebastian cackled and seemed to mull the question over. “Can I be both?” Kurt blushed.

“You sure know how to charm ‘em.”

“I just thought you’d prefer a place with less chance of bumping into someone from the football team,” Sebastian murmured in a low voice. “What with, seeing as you’re not out yet to them.” Kurt smiled appreciatively, recalling the conversation they had had over text the previous weekend, smiling at Sebastian’s thoughtfulness. He actually had been worried about that. “Also, Breadstix sucks.” he continued in a louder voice.

“How _dare_ you?” laughed Kurt. “Breadstix is Lima cuisine at its best!”

“Wait until you try the food here, I swear. You’ll never want to go to Breadstix again.”

Sebastian ordered for them, pizza. (“If they call it a pizza restaurant, always test the pizza.” He had said, Kurt couldn't agree more.) And when the food had been taking a little too long, he had clicked, in exactly the way that Kurt had a habit of doing.

“You do that too?” he giggled.

“Of course, how else would they know I’m annoyed at their taking too long?”

When the pizza finally did arrive, Kurt was put to shame. It was exquisite, truly the best pizza he had ever had in his life, and he didn’t even know that he had been measuring the pizzas he had been eating, but he would from now on.

“Oh my God.” he moaned. “This is incredible.”

“Isn’t it? I swear, food in Lima is amazing if you give it a chance.”

Sebastian rode him home, and Kurt was pleased to see that his father’s car wasn’t parked in the driveway. Not that he was going to invite his date in or anything, that would be way too fast, but perhaps a goodnight kiss would be a lovely way to round the evening off, and he had never kissed a guy before, much less one this attractive. 

They paused at the doorstep and Sebastian leered at Kurt through his eyelashes.

“Tonight was really great.” Kurt whispered. “Thank you.” 

“It was my pleasure.” The boy looked around him and looked momentarily distressed, which surprised Kurt, he had never seen Sebastian look anything other than totally composed. “I really like you, Kurt. And I would like to do this again, if you would be okay with that.”

Kurt smiled and batted his eyelashes, leaning forward slightly, causing Sebastian’s eyes to widen. “I would be very okay with that.” He closed the gap finally, earning a small, uncharacteristic squeak of surprise from his date. It was the most perfect first kiss he could have asked for, very teen movie from the 80s, and when they separated, it took all of Kurt’s energy not to dive back in again, instead opting for a soft smirk and a wink. “‘Night.”

“‘Night.” 

***

Blaine was sprawled on the shitty couch in Finn’s basement playing Mario Kart when the name _KURT_ flashed up on his phone screen. 

At Tina’s “Ooh, Blaaaaiiine. It’s Kuuuuuurt.”, he snatched up the device and pressed it to his ear, moving far away from Tina and Finn for privacy.

“Hey, Kurt. What’s up?” he greeted, trying to mask the bitter edge to his voice that came from being ditched for a date with a cute football player.

He heard a high pitched squeal from the other end. “Blaine! He is SO. DREAMY.” 

Blaine could barely hold back the contortion of his features. “Really?”

“Really, really.” Kurt seemed to stop for a second to catch his breath. “Okay, so he picked me up in - you’ll never guess - his _motorcycle_. Yeah, he rides a motorcycle, can you believe it?”

The boy carried on gushing as Blaine zoned out and fell into the comforting arms of Tina, who had suddenly appeared at his side. 

“...and then he took me to the drive-in movie theatre where we watched Star Wars - it was so cool. I’m not usually into that, but there was something about it. Something… nostalgic, I don’t know. And Harrison Ford is a total dreamboat.”

“Sounds amazing.” Blaine managed to choke out.

“I’m sorry.” Kurt sighed. Blaine could hear his small smile through the phone. “Here I am gushing about my date like some school girl. How was your evening? You said you were spending it with Finn and Tina?”

Blaine allowed himself to be absorbed in Tina’s arms, and his shoulder to be comfortably patted by Finn, who took the phone away from him and held it to his ear.

“Sorry, Kurt, Blaine isn’t feeling too good, do you mind if he calls you back later?” He could hear the tinny, distant sound of Kurt’s sympathetic reply. “Cool… yeah… Oh, and Kurt.” There came a faint ‘yeah?’ from the phone. “I’m really happy for you, okay? But, just know that I will beat the crap out of this guy if he hurts you.” Blaine smiled fondly as he just heard Kurt’s sassy reply. “Okay… fill me in when you get home… See you, Kurt. Bye.” He hung up the phone and watched Blaine sadly, who surely looked an absolute mess.

“I’m sorry, dude.” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “This must be really tough for you.”

Blaine nodded and buried his face in Tina’s shoulder. “Urgh.” he groaned, sniffing slightly and mustering up a small smile. “I always get my heart broken like this.” 

Finn chuckled. “It’s because you’re a passionate guy. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I don’t like being a passionate guy, it means I care too much. Why can’t I just be emotionless? No one can hurt what you don’t have.”

“God, that’s depressing.” Blaine mustered a laugh, as Tina pulled him closer and rocked him back and forth.

“Let’s just watch Wizards of Waverly Place or something.” Blaine pouted, and Finn jumped up from his spot on the couch to change the channel with an air of urgency. 

“Wha- Blaine? I wanted to watch Jaws!” Tina pleaded, and Blaine looked at her as if she had said something criminal.

“You know I can’t watch that, _Tina_ I get freaked out!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo... I have a bit of a question. Do you want a storyline with Karofsky kissing Kurt? I've been debating back and forth and I just thought I'd go ahead and ask if you wanna see it? Let me know xxxx


	20. I'm Here for You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was unbelievably stressful to write. First of all I've been overloaded with school work, so been stuck doing that 99% of the time, and also I finished this chapter on Wednesday but hated everything I wrote so deleted it ALL and started all over again. Slightly more pleased with the finished version, but there is much room for improvement. So apologies for the slightly late upload, I hope u enjoy :)

Blaine had a problem. His name was Sebastian Smyhte.

He and the taller meerkat had endured limited interaction, so therefore Blaine really didn’t have much reason to dislike him. But he did. He disliked the way he was out taking Kurt on dates with that motorbike and his smirk of a smile that said ‘ _oh look at me! I’m tall and handsome and dating Kurt Hummel! Look at me oooh’._

Well… that probably wasn’t what Sebastian was intending to insinuate, but that’s what it felt like, for Blaine at least. 

And of course, it had been awful when he had gotten a call from Kurt, where he had gushed on and on about his date, and Blaine had to be happy for him. Because he and Kurt were friends.

_ Friends. _

Blaine did not like the word. At least he didn’t like to insinuate it with one Kurt Hummel, who he had a very different noun he would like to ordain him with, but he couldn’t say it openly. Sebastian was calling him it, Blaine couldn’t rip that away from them. The cold truth was Blaine was too late, Kurt had a boyfriend. And not just any boyfriend, a tall, handsome, good looking and confident boyfriend. He didn’t like him or their little relationship not one bit.

“Ok, Blaine. You need to get a grip.” The sound of Santana’s voice forced Blaine back into reality, and he looked over from his side of the couch at the girl, who was sat cross legged, staring at him in irritation. The two were having one of their movie nights at Blaine’s house while his parents were out, and he had chosen to watch Notting Hill, an inevitably awful decision. The movie was a romance for  _ God’s _ sake, it only put him in a bad mood, since at that moment in time, romance was not going awfully well for him. 

“I’m fine, 'Tana." Blaine mumbled as the movie credits rolled out, rubbing his face in his hands. She sighed.    


“You’re not. You’re upset about this Sebastian guy.” She shuffled closer to him. “Get over it-”

“Easier said than done.” He interjected, folding his arms and falling deeper into the cushions, a frown on his face. 

“I know, I know.” Santana reasoned irritably, and from the corner of his eye, Blaine saw her features contort in confusion. “I just don’t get it, Blaine. What’s going on with the whole _ fake boyfriend  _ thing? I cannot imagine what led you into that mess. You and Kurt have been friends for ages, and you told me yourself you liked him, what with the whole Toxic incident." Blaine had to chuckle lightly at that, as he remembered the Britney number they had done in the gymnasium where had attempted to seduce Kurt, whom he had only known for two weeks at the time, and evidently, it had failed. "You liked him, and you didn't ask him out, you just kept waiting for-for what? For him to ask you out? You had so many opportunities and you expected Kurt to wait around for you to fucking man up-" Blaine had heard enough, and cut her off mid sentence, blurting out the truth he had been so afraid to admit, even to himself. 

“I thought Kurt liked me too, okay!” he snapped, and Santana jumped slightly, bemused. “We- we almost kissed last Christmas.” Blaine admitted, and had to bite back a smile as the girl's eyes widened in shock, mouth following open.

“You what?” she shrieked, and though they were home alone, Blaine shushed her out of a reflex.    
  
“It was nothing! I initiated it, and we got... interrupted.” She glared at him. 

“By what exactly?”

“A towtruck.” This is where Blaine let out a small laugh as Santana shook her head, remembering that night back in December. Being caught on the side of the road, the Wicked soundtrack, tree being blown over on the top of their vehicle, Kurt's sweet, tinkly laugh fighting back his inevitable frostbite-

“I have so many questions.” Santana said, interrupting his thought process, sitting back and surveying him in surprise, perhaps admiration. Blaine smirked, a facade that lasted a few seconds, but quickly faded, as those Christmas memories were placed by different one’s, darker one’s. A hot guy flirting with Kurt, all confident and cocky, while Kurt fell right into his trap. Santana seemed to notice his smile faltering and shuffled closer, placing a comforting hand on his leg, rubbing softly. “Blaine, I know this hurts. I do. Most people don’t think so because I seem all tough and heartless on the outside, but I do get it. I’ve been heartbroken before, we all have. But you’ve gotta suck it up and accept it’s not going to work out-”

“It might work out.” Blaine interrupted, and Santana shushed him gently. 

“Maybe.” she sighed, leaning over and curling into his side, rubbing his back in soothing, circular motions. “But the right person will come along, and that may or may not be Kurt. But when you  _ do _ find them, the only thing you have to worry about is timing, because there really is nothing sadder than meeting the right person at the wrong time.” Blaine nodded, thinking quietly to himself, and Santana watched him for a moment, before chuckling to herself. “ _ Well _ , there are a couple things that are sadder, but you know what I mean.” Blaine smiled at her, and settled deeper into the pillows, sighing deeply. 

“Do you think  _ I _ met Kurt at the wrong time?” Instantly, and to Blaine’s surprise, Santana shook her head. 

“No, you met him at just the right time. The problem was you didn’t act on your feelings soon enough.” Blaine hummed, thinking quietly to himself, and recalling a weirdly similar conversation he had had with Puck after Sectionals. Everyone was saying it to him, he hadn’t acted on his feelings soon enough, it was why it hadn’t worked out. God knows whether Kurt would have said yes if he had asked, but Blaine didn’t even try. Sebastian was smart, he had to hand it to him, and acted on what he felt right away. That’s what Blaien had done wrong, and the idea that he could be with Kurt right now if he had been brave enough made him angry with himself, and though he wanted to scold himself for his idiocy, Blaine let out a small laugh. 

“Yeah, I kinda screwed it up with Kurt didn’t I?”

“Big time.” Santana replied, propping herself up on her elbow and off the couch, moving over to the kitchen.  “But the universe has its ways, maybe you too  _ are _ meant to be together.” She called over her shoulder as she went, and Blaine nodded in her direction, thoughtful. He watched her retreat for a moment, before allowing his eyes to drift over to a nearby shelf, where a bundle of pink and white tassels lay hanging. Blaine recognised the object immediately. 

The pompoms Kurt had gotten him that Christmas. 

Such a thoughtful gift, it made Blaine’s heart soar. He didn’t have the heart to use them for practice, they were too precious. He had put them in prized possession, and not told his parents exactly who had gotten them for him, just put them up on the highest point of the main room, where he could always watch them, sitting so helpless and limp yet full of so much meaning. Blaine sighed, eyes still trained on the baby pink tassels, remembering the way he twirled his fingers around them that day in the car, Kurt’s eyes watching him with joy and pride. He had looked so pretty that day, all wrapped up in his coat and scarf. Blaine grinned fondly at the memory. 

“Yeah… maybe.”

***

Kurt was at his locker. That was all it was, he was innocently collecting textbooks from his locker, when he heard heavy, thudding footsteps coming up from behind him, footsteps he recognised. Their weighty crash was uneven, and before Kurt could spin round to duck or move out of the way, two rough hands took him by the shoulder and shoved him into the metallic doors, where his head hit the back and he fell down to the ground. It hurt, bad. The room was spinning and he could barely think straight, the world like an uncomfortable carousel. He reached back to feel the back of his head, wincing as he ran his finger across a bump that he was sure would soon become a bruise. He didn’t need to look up to know who had been the cause of the agonizing pain he found himself in, as it was obvious. Dave Karofsky. 

Kurt was sick of it. Sick of the shoves, the taunts, the relentless bullying. He simply couldn’t take it anymore, so scrambled to his feet messily and ran in the opposite direction, his feet moved with an air of purpose, though his heart faltered slightly at the terrifying idea of what he was about to do. He caught sight of a large ‘52’ on the back of a similar letterman jacket to the one Kurt currently wore, and he followed it down the hall and into the locker rooms.

“Hey!” he screamed, pushing the door open to an empty room, where Karofsky was standing by his locker, fiddling with the code. “ _ What _ is your problem?”   


“What do you want, Hummel? I’ve gotta get to class.”

“No! We’re going to talk, man to man.” he shouted aggressively, not having much of a speech prepared, but knowing he always improvised something on the spot. But it was hard to get his brain to work when Karofsky was turning on him so threateningly. 

“ _ Man _ to  _ man _ ?” he repeated, and Kurt nodded, 

“Yes, believe it or not I _am_ a male. I have a dick. And I have more balls than you do to come in here and figure out what your  _ damn _ problem is, since you prefer to shove and bully people to avoid your problems.” 

“How dare you, Hummel-” Karofsky started threateningly, raising his fist with flared nostrils, but Kurt pressed on. 

“You know what, I don't get it. Maybe your assumptions are right, maybe I am gay. But you have  _ no _ right to assume it and taunt me about it because you have a- a what… a hunch? Are you really  _ that _ ignorant?” 

“I-”

“You take your anger out on everybody else because you’re hiding something, I don’t know what, but you are. I have given you _no_ reason to hate me, none. In all honesty, I have given you many reasons to like me. I’m just gonna come out and fucking say it, the football team is winning with me on this team, you know it, and I know it! So what is it, huh? What’s made you hate me?"

“It’s not-”

“Is it because I give off a  _ ‘gay vibe’  _ or whatever the fuck you call it? Is it because I’m more flamboyant than other guys at this school?”

“Kurt-”

“Please enlighten me! I would love to know what it is that has made you be so cruel to me, and to so many others at this school. Are you too afraid to admit the truth, that you’re really nothing more than a guy who will spend the rest of his life behind the counter at a rest stop? That you’re ignorant self centered and cruel? Because I need to know, David. I need to-”

And that was when Kurt was forced to stop talking, as two large hands grabbed him by the face and pulled him in, followed by a pair of lips pressed up against his own. He hardly had time to react, he just stood there, frozen and scared. It was disgusting, slimy and gross. It seemed to be that Karofsky didn’t know how to kiss, because he was just pushing his lips onto Kurt’s with some kind of sick purpose. Kurt didn’t know how long it lasted, and after Karofksy had pulled back, Kurt hoped not very long. The boy’s hands were still on his face, having not moved from their original position, staring at him with a softer expression. Kurt was fearful, and he stared at Dave in terror, shock… dread. 

“What the hell is going on?” a commanding voice yelled from the door of the changing rooms. Kurt couldn’t figure out how to turn, but the owner of the voice stepped forward quickly enough and shoved Karofsky back into the lockers and pinned his neck there hard enough for the bully to start gasping for air. Kurt could see clearly now that his saviour was Sebastian, who he remembered now he had made plans with to ditch school, and he must have been coming to pick him.

“What the fuck, man. What the  _ fuck _ .” Sebastian growled, pressing further into Karofsky, causing the lockers to clang once more. 

“Seb-” Kurt started, trying to shove the boy off the bully, but it was no use, Sebastian just delved in harder. Karofsky’s face was turning an unnerving shade of purple. “Seb, stop!”

“What was he doing to you, Kurt?”

“Get off him and I’ll tell you.” 

“He deserves this.”

“Nobody deserves this. Get. Off. Him.” Kurt gave Sebastian a final shove and the boy reluctantly backed off, still giving the bully deathly glares as he keeled over and caught his breath. Kurt paid him no heed. “Thanks.”

Sebastian gave him the once over. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you did he?” The boy seemed to be keeping his distance, which Kurt was grateful for. He wasn’t in the mood to be touched. 

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not gonna tell anyone about this. Right, Hummel?” said Karofsky, who still seemed to be a little off colour. 

Kurt stared into his flat, sad eyes that glinted like beetle shells in a blazing sun. He felt little pity, but perhaps that would come in time. “Not tell anyone about you kissing me?” 

Karofsky nodded dumbly. 

“I won’t tell anyone.”

“Kurt-” Sebastian attempted to protest, but Kurt rattled on.

“I will never out someone.”

“Who said anything about outing? I’m not gay.” Karofsky stuttered weakly.

“I think we’re well past that.” Kurt advanced on the bully and tried to keep his lower lip from shivering. “You kissed me. That means something. I know you were trying to hide something, and I know what it is now. But I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Karofsky’s gaze flickered to Sebastian warily. “You won’t tell anyone either?’

“We’ll see, I’m undecided.” 

“Seb!” Kurt interjected, turning on him with dagger eyes. After a momentary mental conflict, Sebastian sagged his shoulders, tracing something on the ground with suppressed anger and groaned in defeat. 

“I won’t tell anyone.” He spat, and Kurt nodded his head at the boy in a silent  _ ‘thank you’.  _ Despite that, Sebastian still pressed on. “But I hope you understand, Dave, that I’m not going to tolerate you being a dick anymore.”

Kurt sighed and started to move towards the door, keeping a cautious eye on Karofsky, and on Sebastian, who was following him but keeping his glare on the bully. 

Sebastian advanced and pressed his index against Dave’s chest. “Just know that while Kurt may be being all kind and loving about this, the next time you lay a finger on him, I won’t be so forgiving.” 

Kurt felt a chill at Sebastian’s anger, and paced forward while grabbing him by the arm and dragging him from the locker rooms. He could feel rage coming from him, and as they finally exited the room to meet a now deserted hallway, the cold reality of what had just happened hit him, and Kurt whimpered. Karofsky, the homophobic bully that had been torturing him since the day they met… is a closet case?  _ Oh God.  _

“I can’t-” he began to mumble, but before he could say anything more, Sebastian stepped forward and pulled Kurt into a hug, allowing him to begin to sob into his shoulder uncontrollably. “I- I don’t… understand.” He hiccuped, and Seb shushed him gently. 

“Shh, it’s okay.” He began to rub his back comfortingly. “It’ll be okay.” He started to sway gently, back and forth, kindly humming a gentle tune to himself, instantly calming Kurt, who was really crying now. Mostly out of confusion, frustration, fear. “Who was that?” Seb questioned calmly, and Kurt released his hold, pulling back from the warm embrace. He sniffed and wiped his nose, recalling a conversation the two had had over text the previous weekend. 

“That was Karofsky, that dick football player I was telling you about.” Sebastian shoved his hands in his pockets as Kurt spoke, nodding his head slowly, mouth pinched in an angry, thin line.

“I can’t quite believe what just happened. I- I was so scared, I walked into the locker room and- and he had his mouth on you…” Seb trailed off as he spoke, and Kurt outwardly exhaled, knowing this hurt him too, though he had never met Karofsky until now.

“I’m sorry-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence. You know it’s not your fault.” 

Kurt smiled appreciatively. He took a few moments to compose himself, and nodded towards the lockers nearby, where the two leaned up against them in the eerie halls, taking slow, easy breaths. 

The initial shock eventually died down, and he accepted a tissue from Seb, dabbing at his eyes delicately, trying desperately to push the events of that day as far from his mind as possible. He could dwell on them later, what he did know now though was that he did  _ not _ want to stay at school. 

Though there was much of the day left, Seb and Kurt had already agreed to take the afternoon off even before the Karofsky incident had taken place, and it felt even more vital than ever to take their ‘sick’ day now. And despite the fact they had planned to go for lunch at the fancy pizza place again, Kurt just wanted to go home. Apparently Sebastian had read his thoughts exactly, because he jerked his head toward the exit, and Kurt nodded at him. 

“I’ll drive you home.” Seb smiled, looping an arm around Kurt’s body and pulling him into a half, comforting hug. Kurt sighed, sniffing once more, and leaned into the taller boy’s gentle touch.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” 

*** 

“...I don’t know what to tell you, Blaine. You chose the Cheerios, that’s that.” Mr Schue reasoned from the other side of his desk, Blaine stood facing him, feeling out of place in his polyester uniform. He felt desperate, he needed that space back on New Directions. He simply couldn’t leave them. Mr Schue just needed a bit of convincing. 

“Please, Mr Schue. I love Glee, so much. I love everyone in Glee. I made a stupid mistake staying with Sue, I regretted it the moment it happened.”

“You’re only regretting it because you and the Cheerios lost at Regionals. If you had come away with a first place trophy I doubt you’d be standing in front of me right now, begging me for a place.” Mr Schue spat, looking at him with a disappointed glare, sending shivers up Blaine’s spine. It was a glare that his parents used on many occasions, and Mr Schue seemed to have mastered it perfectly. 

“That’s not it at all. I love to sing and dance, and there is nowhere else in this lousy school I can get that. I need Glee.”

“I’ll think about it, Blaine. But the truth is you ditched _us_ for _her_. Even Kurt, who’s been in the club for only a few months has shown more loyalty than you have in the past few weeks.” That boiled Blaine’s blood slightly, and he balled his hands into a fist to resist from screaming at the teacher in front of him. Mr Schue didn’t get it, Kurt hadn’t been forced to make a decision between popularity and the New Directions, while Blaine had. Besides, it wasn’t all as black and white a decision as his friends kept insinuating. 

“It’s not fair to compare us.” The teacher scowled at him as Blaine spoke through gritted teeth, face unreadable. 

“I’ll think about it, Blaine, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. I can’t favour you. The deal was Sue or Glee, and you made your choice. Well, now I've made mine.” 

Anger boiled up in Blaine, as he glared at Mr Schue one final time, before turning away from the man and heading for the door. As he exited, and was hopefully out his earshot, Blaine let out a disgruntled  _ ‘ergh’,  _ folding his arms and storming down the hall. He was walking, kept in his own world of worries and upset over having likely lost Glee, passing student after student who all looked at his angry self in confusion. He didn’t want to talk to them. He was flooded with fury, with Mr Schue, with Sue, with everyone. And there was one thing he always did when he was mad. Boxing. Which is why he immediately headed toward the locker rooms, where he knew a punching bag was awaiting him, ready for him to let his anger out. 

He turned, and pushed open the door, throwing his satchel to the floor, so it clattered against the lockers loudly. However, when Blaine turned to the red bag that hung from the ceiling, fists already balled up and ready to hit, it was taken up by someone he wasn’t expecting to see.

Kurt.

Just him and a discarded locker room. He was punching the bag, hitting so aggressively that it swung far more than it did when Blaine was working out on it. He wore no shirt and low hanging jeans that looked simply delectable, though Blaine forced himself not to think on it, instead sparing a glance at a white vest had been discarded on the floor near him. Kurt must have taken it off after getting too hot. He had been on the bag for a while.

“Kurt?” asked Blaine as gently as possible, and he suddenly stopped hitting to look over at Blaine with fright flickering in his eyes. He physically flinched far more than Blaine had been expecting, and his hands shot up as if he were about to punch something, and Blaine backed away. After seeing him, Kurt untensed and relaxed his shoulders, lowering his hands with a relieved exhale.

“Blaine,  _ phew _ . It’s just you. I thought you were…” Kurt trailed off, shaking his head immediately and starting to punch again. It was worrying, and something was definitely wrong, based off of his blotchy cheeks and red eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all. It scared Blaine. 

“Are you okay? You seem… tense.” he tried, approaching him once more, pointedly looking up at the ceiling and refraining from dropping his gaze to Kurt’s bare upper half. 

“I’m fine. Just letting off some steam.” he said bitterly, before punching again with even more strength than the last.

“Don’t you usually do that on the field?” Blaine asked, recalling their conversation back when they were doing duets, where Kurt was kicking footballs through his irritation with Finn.

“Usually. But it’s raining pretty hard out there. I'd rather to stay in here.” Kurt’s eyes flickered as he punched again, dropping his gaze slightly to look at Blaine anxiously, as if he were about to speak, before shaking his head and turning back to the bag. There was something wrong, it looked as though Kurt were about to say more, but had cut himself off.

“There’s something wrong.” Blaine stated, and Kurt went to hit the bag again, but his hand faltered and fell to his side helplessly, a shrill, masked sob escaping his mouth. Blaine had never seen seen anyone’s eyes tear up so quickly. He didn’t handle sad people well, and he had never seen Kurt cry, but here he was, tears falling thick and fast down the boy's cheeks. He looked terrified. “Kurt, oh my God. Are you okay? What happened?” Blaine wanted to hug him, but what with him being half-naked and his perfectly chiseled abs showing, he felt awkward in doing so. Luckily, Kurt turned away and paced towards his locker, opening it up and taking a grey shirt that he slipped on easily.

“Don’t worry about it, Blaine. I don’t- I can’t-”

“What can’t you do?” He took a step towards the boy, who was avoiding his eye, keeping them trained on the ground. But now, with Blaine being about half a metre from him, Kurt flicked his gaze up, and instantly broke down. His features were pulled in tightly and his mouth was pinched together, breaking Blaine’s heart at the way he collapsed into his embrace, and not in the pretty way movie-stars do, like a vase being smashed. Blaine caught him as he fell into his arms, and at first froze, before rubbing his back gently and in what he hoped was a calming manner. 

“Hey, shh… it’s okay. Just let it out.” he murmured softly, and Kurt let out another strangled sob. He said something, but it was muffled by his face pressed into Blaine’s shoulder, so it was difficult to understand. “What did you say?” Blaine asked, and Kurt spoke again, a little louder this time, but he couldn’t construct a sentence out of the words he had caught.

“I… he… karof… ki… me.” Kurt muttered, and Blaine regretfully released the boy, rubbing his hands up and down Kurt’s arms with a sympathetic gaze. 

“One more time, Kurt-”

“He kissed me.” he said again, louder this time, and Blaine’s stomach tightened.

“Who kissed you?” He was confused. Who had kissed, Kurt? Sebastian? He surely couldn’t be freaked out by that.

“Karofsky.” Blaine felt his heart sink, right to the pit of his stomach and beyond He wasn’t sure whether he had heard him correctly, and just stared at Kurt incredulously. 

“Karofsky? I don’t understand.” Kurt bit his lip and nodded dully, tears having stopped falling but wet streaks remaining on his cheeks.

“He- he kissed me, because I stood up to him… God, I can’t believe it. He- he’s so cru- cruel and mean and I- I feel so- so- so…” And that was when he fell back into hysterical sobs, and Blaine pulled him in with warm arms, rubbing his back softly and murmuring. 

“Hey, shh. It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.” He kept saying those words until they lost their meaning, feeling scared himself at Kurt’s broken form. “It’s okay… you’ll be okay.” He whispered once more, and he felt the taller boy nod and sniff into his shoulder, and his shoulders relaxed slightly. They remained like that for a moment, embraced in a calm hug while Blaine murmured words of support, and he felt completely at home with his arms wrapped around Kurt. He wanted to make him feel okay, to cause those eyes to dry and for him to smile again like he did after his audition for Glee club, or when they sang American Boy, or when he had won them the first game with his kick, or-

“Blaine? Uh... Kurt? Are you guys okay?” 

Finn. Damn it.

Immediately, the two jumped apart from each other, Blaine scratching the back of his neck awkwardly and Kurt dabbing at his tears. Finn was standing in the doorway, having just interupted (at the wrong moment at that), looking shocked. 

“What the- what’s going on?” he spluttered, eyes flicking from Kurt’s blotchy cheeks and tear streaked face, then to Blaine, looking uncomfortable. “Kurt, are you-”

“Fine, Finn. I’ll- I’ll speak to you… uh, later.” Kurt strided across the room and grabbed his bag, throwing it onto his shoulder with stressed features. He started towards the door that Finn was blocking, tipping his head to the side in a gesture for him to get out of the way, but Finn did not move. 

“Kurt, what’s going on?” he asked, and Kurt looked to the side, shaking his head dismissively. “Hey, sit down.” reasoned Finn, gesturing to one of the benches, and Kurt nodded, heading towards it and slumping down by the side of Finn. He seemed to have been waiting to open up about the situation, and when Finn prompted him once more, he unravelled. Blaine simply listened, leaning against the lockers and soaking in Kurt’s story, now that he had time to speak about it. From what he could gather, he had confronted Dave angrily, been kissed out of nowhere and was interrupted by Sebastian stepping in, who apparently had unleashed his own fury. That upset Blaine slightly, but now was not the time to be jealous, because Sebastian did save Kurt from that situation, he could thank him for that.

Once he had finished, Kurt took a deep breath as Finn nodded slowly, comprehending his tale. He seemed surprisingly thoughtful, which was an odd look on Finn, who was usually so uncomfortable in these kinds of situations, but it seemed he and Kurt were rather close in that way.

They ended the conversation with a hug and kind words, where Finn had explained to call him and talk to him _whenever_ he needed anything. Afterward, Blaine approached Kurt after Finn had said his piece, smiling softly.

“If you ever need anything, Kurt, I’m right here. Karofsky seems a little conflicted, and though he did kiss you, you are in no way responsible for anything he may or may not do after this, okay? If he lays a finger on you, tell someone. Got it?” Kurt hummed and nodded at Blaine, mouthing an inaudible ‘thank you’. Blaine smiled sadly and reached out, rubbing his shoulder calmly. He knew what he wanted to say, and though it felt similar to Finn's sentiment, it was the truth, and spoke those four words with an air of concern. 

“I’m here for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S NEARLY CHRISTMAS AHHHH
> 
> Sorry, I put my tree up today and I'm real excited teehee


	21. The Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the majority of this chapter sat in the back of my Philosophy class vaguely listening to my teacher... I'm not even joking when I say someone looked over my shoulder and was all like 'what are you writing?' I have never shut my laptop faster. Anyway, I nearly humiliated myself for this chapter, so enjoy <3

“You’re- you’re what?” Kurt spluttered incredulously over dinner that evening, as he and Finn (who had come over for a Sunday meal) stared at both of their parents in shock. Carole had her hands collapsed together and was practically bouncing in her seat, while Burt looked at the two of them proudly. 

“We’re getting married!” Carole announced again, having just said it but apparently the message hadn’t got through to them. He and Finn gaped at both of them, mouths on the floor. 

Married. They would be the Hummel-Hudson household. Carole would be his mom, and Finn… his brother? Kurt had thought over the prospect before, of course he had, it felt inevitable. But now it was actually happening. There would be a wedding. And flowers. And a band and a venue and planning and oh God what was he going to wear and-

“Uh… guys? Are you- you okay?” Burt asked at their unreadable reactions. At this, Finn was the first to speak. 

“Married? As in husband and wife married?” Burt and Carole nodded at them excitedly, smiles faltering at the his delayed reaction. “As in we’re going to be a family married?” 

“Well first of all we’re going to be moving house, all of us. We’ve found one only twenty minutes from your school, _and_ it’s big enough for everyone to have their own rooms.” Burt exclaimed, grin still wide as Carole examined the ring on her finger lovingly, as if she couldn’t quite believe it was there. Kurt was amazed. He was happy for his dad, and though his mother’s face drifted into his head as he mulled the prospect over, he was thrilled that his father had found love again, he deserved that. But Finn looked outraged, and before Kurt could stop him, he was on his feet.

“I don’t understand, why didn’t you tell us? When did this happen?”

“A few days ago.” Burt nodded, and Finn stared at him, gesturing with his hands aimlessly. 

“A few days ago-? What- how could you keep that a secret? This is huge, why do I have to move? I like my house! I like my life and I- I don’t want anything to change.” he exclaimed in upset, moving toward the main room, pacing. No one did anything for a good few moments, and Kurt felt he should say something, so got to his feet and cautiously approached Finn.

“Finn, calm down. I don’t want to sound mean here but this doesn’t really involve you.” Burt and Carole had been listening to him up until this point, and when Kurt realised, he took another cautious step towards Finn so he was speaking in more of a whisper, so only the he could hear. “This isn’t _our_ decision, this is theirs. It’s their life. We’ve gotta respect that, because sorry Finn but this isn’t all about you.”

“I know that, but it’s just kinda a shock.” Finn raised his voice slightly as he spoke, and Kurt simply shushed him back down again so their parents could not listen in on their conversation. 

“Yeah, well it’s a shock to me too. But just calm down, for them at least… we’ll talk later.” Something seemed to have shifted in Finn, as his gaze on Kurt softened and he slumped his shoulders in defeat. 

“You’re scary when you’re mad, dude.” he commented, patting him on the shoulder roughly and walking over to the table, and as they both sat down, Kurt smiled. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Take what as a compliment?” Burt asked suddenly, fork in held slack in his hand and a look of interest on his face, having not heard the rest of their conversation. 

“Nothing.” They both said in unison, meeting each other's gaze and smirking. The dinner continued calmly after that, and their chatter of weddings led them deep into the night, until Finn was forced to stay over because of how late it was, and both having school the next day made it much easier. But as Kurt fell asleep that night, anxiety overcame him. His life would be changing, a lot. Soon, he would no longer sleep in his basement, he would live in a house he didn’t recognise, and Finn and Carole would always be there. 

Always. 

They would be family. There were aspects that Kurt looked forward to, and yes, planning the wedding was one of them, but perhaps he would enjoy having a mother figure in his life again. He may even like having a stepbrother to be there for him, even if it was Finn Hudson. He wanted to reach over to grab his phone and text Sebastian, who had officially become his boyfriend a little over a week ago on their second date, but his limbs were too heavy with the want for sleep. And although his hand reached out for his cell, it simply dropped back into the mattress as he drifted off into an uneasy sleep, haunted with images of a letterman-wearing bully, hands grabbing his face and pulling him in, then a tall boy pushing him away followed by shouting and crying, and memories of a kiss that was definitely never meant to happen…

***

Walking into school that morning left Kurt feeling so happy. It took his brain a while to comprehend the whole wedding thing, but now he had come to terms with it’s reality, he had started preparing immediately. His father had ordained him with the position as wedding planner, and he could not have been happier. He had told the Glee club on Monday, and they had insisted on performing at the wedding. Kurt of course forced himself to agree, as it seemed the cheapest and safest idea. 

Dad said he could bring a plus one, and since all of his closest friends were in Glee and they were going anyway, he couldn't think of anyone he could take. He had asked Sebastian, but he had explained that he couldn’t go since he was travelling with his family for that week. He knew that to be true as well, because his _boyfriend_ (it was still cool calling him that) sent him photos on a daily basis of his trip. It was very sweet of him, and it caused Kurt to stare at his phone lovingly and go all giddy.

Seb had been checking in on him with how he was doing after the Karofsky incident, and he had promised him that if anything happened he’d call. He was still shaken up, but absolutely avoided Dave as much as he could. That was slightly difficult when it came to Football practice, and though he always felt the bully’s eyes on him as he warmed up, he ignored them. He couldn’t face that right now.

“Kurt! Hey!” Kurt looked to the right of him, to see none other than Blaine Anderson rapidly approaching him, grinning madly. Despite their conflict over Glee and the Cheerios, Kurt had grown to forgive Blaine, and the two had been hanging out far more than usual recently (but that might also be because of the rest of the New Directions completely zoning Blaine out after his supposed ‘betrayal’).

“Hey Blaine.” replied Kurt, smiling at the boy, who was walking up to him briskly. He seemed to have an air of purpose to him, and apparently had something to say. Kurt nodded for him to speak once they were within close proximity to each other. Blaine paused for a moment, as if he were racking his brains for something to say before speaking, like the realisation of what his intentions were had just dawned on him. 

“I wanted to talk to you.” Kurt paused for a moment, taken aback by Blaine’s abruptness, but urging him to carry on. 

“Uh, go ahead. I’m listening.” Blaine smiled awkwardly at Kurt as he spoke and cleared his throat, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his polyester uniform and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. 

“Mr Schue won’t let me back in Glee.” he admitted, as if it were some big unbelievable revelation. Kurt thought it was sort of preordained after he chose the Cheerios, so it was odd he seemed so shocked over it. 

“Can’t say I’m surprised, you did kinda-”

“Betray you... I know, you’ve said a million times.” Blaine finished for him, irritated as his features tightened, before he brought his eyes up from the floor to meet Kurt’s, sighing in defeat, stance softening “I just... I want to prove to him that I’m one _hundred_ percent devoted to the New Directions. I love Glee. I’m not losing it over a stupid mistake I made.” Kurt scoffed slightly and turned, beginning to saunter off in the opposite direction, waving his hips from side to side, a habit he had picked up from Quinn. Blaine quickly trailed after him, jogging slightly through the struggle of keeping up with Kurt’s naturally long strides. 

“And why exactly are you coming to _me_ about that?” Blaine paused, though his feet were still scurrying after Kurt, and he scratched the back of his neck, apparently choosing his next words wisely. 

“Well, I consider you one of my- my best friends, so I thought…” Blaine trailed off, looking shifty at the compliment he had awarded Kurt with. And in truth, he had to admit, Blaine’s words made him blush, though he shook it off quickly, acting nonchalant. 

“I’m one of your best friends?” he questioned proudly, and Blaine let out a light chuckle, nodding. “ _Aw_ , Blainey days.” he cooed, and Blaine scoffed. 

“Blainey days?”

“Yeah, I heard Tina call you it. Thought it was funny.” 

“Yeah, well don’t call me that ever again.” he laughed, and Kurt nudged him in the shoulder. “And, is that a yes? Will you help me?” Kurt’s mouth twitched to the side slightly, then smiled as an idea sparked in him. 

“You know what, I will. I’ve got the perfect idea.”

“And what’s that?” 

“Okay, so my Dad and his girlfriend are getting married-”

“Kurt! That’s amazing, I’m so happy for you.” Blaine interrupted, and Kurt grinned, shrugging good naturedly. 

“I know. I’m so excited.” he squealed, jumping on the spot excitedly. “Anyway, the Glee club is performing as the band, I’m working on a low budget, you know how it is. But I was thinking… what if you came?” Blaine tilted his head. 

“Excuse me?”

“You could go up on stage and sing something. I’m sure Mr Schue would appreciate the gesture, fucking _everything_ makes him emotional, so it’d be sure to work. Plus, it’ll get you back in the New Directions good books.” Blaine seemed to mull this over for a second, before smiling slightly and nodding at Kurt. 

“That’s not a bad idea.” he admitted, and Kurt nodded in agreement at his own ingeniousness. “But I would hate to crash your Dad’s wedding, I’m not even invited.”

“You can come as my plus one.” Kurt explained, and Blaine cocked his head in surprise. 

“What? Why would you do that? Don’t you want to bring your _boyfriend_?” Kurt’s thoughts drifted to Sebastian, who he knew was very happily traveling with his family at that moment. God it was weird how much he missed him, but he didn’t want to be clingy or anything. It was his first relationship after all. 

“He’s busy.” Kurt said shortly, not feeling the need to elaborate. Blaine’s own significant other reminded him of a small fracture in his plan to get Blaine back in the New Directions. “Wait, will Ben mind that you’re coming as my plus one? I would hate to cause a problem between you two. I know how some people feel kinda weird about those kinda things.”

Blaine looked surprisingly stunned at Kurt’s sentence, and he looked to the side slightly, eyes flicking back and forth, as if he were recalling who Kurt had mentioned. It was odd, Blaine rarely talked about his boyfriend, and Kurt was yet to meet him, or see a picture of him, or be given any basic information on him. He hoped they were doing okay, it was nice for Blaine to be with someone, especially after the whole ‘crush’ incident back in December. God, that felt like ages ago. Kurt was just glad that Blaine didn’t have any feelings now. How awkward would that be?

However, apparently now something had clicked in Blaine’s head, as he broke from his trance and looked to Kurt with realisation.

“Right, yes. _Ben_. No uh- he- he’s not the jealous type. Totally cool guy, totally cool.” Kurt smiled, knowing this was another minuscule piece of fact he now knew about Ben, who from what he had been told was tall with chestnut hair, much like his own. That was all Blaine had told him about his boyfriend, literally, that was it. 

“ _Ben’s not the jealous type_ , hm. There’s another slither of information on your mystery boyfriend, who you _refuse_ to talk about.” Kurt teased, and was surprised by Blaine’s sudden reaction. His cheeks flushed and he ducked his head, suddenly becoming particularly interested with a dead bug smushed on the floor. 

“I’ll see you around, Kurt.” he mumbled softly, and Kurt smiled, though unsettled.

“Oh, yeah sure. I’ll text you.” Flustered, Kurt waved goodbye to Blaine, who was now trailing off down the hall with hurried footsteps, tripping over his own feet as he dodged passer byes.

 _God_ that boy was weird sometimes. 

Kurt didn’t allow his thoughts to wonder any further over Blaine’s odd behaviour, as he couldn’t frankly understand what the problem was and didn’t feel like trying to, but was very quickly broken from his trance when he turned on the spot, only to be met by a pair of flared nostrils and piercing eyes glaring at him. Shudders shot up his spine as his breath hitched in his throat, and felt like running away, but couldn’t with the harsh eyes locking him into a petrified stance.

“Hey, Hummel.” Karofsky spat harshly, and Kurt tried to resist himself from flinching. Though he didn’t show it to the bully at the time, the incident had really shaken him up, and he had felt like crying more often than not when it came into his head, mostly out of shock. He could hardly comprehend what had occurred, even now. Karofsky turned on him. “You haven’t- you haven’t told anyone? You know, other than that _boyfriend_ of yours.” He said the word ‘boyfriend’ so bitterly it caused Kurt to wince, and thought over his question, because in truth, he had told someone. Finn and Blaine, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Uh… no. I haven’t told anyone.” he lied, hoping Dave didn’t know him well enough to see right through him. Thankfully, he didn’t, and Kurt supposed that should relax him, but it didn’t, it only made him tense up as Karofsky took another deadly step towards him. 

“You better not. Because if you tell a _soul_ what happened,” Karofsky paused, as if he was debating whether or not to say what he had been planning on, though his gaze did not waver off of Kurt. “I’m gonna kill you.” Kurt froze, his whole body stiffened as Karofsky huffed in his face one last time, before stalking off in the opposite direction. 

Pure terror surged through his veins, icy daggers straight to the heart. It was like he was being held underwater, gasping for air but not being able to do a damn thing about it. He thought that maybe it would be better if he drowned. At least then the nightmare would be over.

Oh God. Oh God reality hit him.

Kill him. He would... kill him.

He wasn’t quite sure whether he had heard Dave correctly, that was a substantial threat. It had all been so meaningless up until that point, but there he was. 

He needed to talk to someone, tell someone what happened, but only three people knew about the kiss: Seb, Finn and Blaine. He didn’t want to call Seb out of the blue and tell him, the boy was enjoying holidays with his family after all. He could tell Finn, but he knew that his overly protective future step-brother would simply go running to the Football team and get some guys to beat Dave up, and that was definitely not what Kurt wanted. And Blaine… Well Kurt supposed he could tell him, they were friends, _best_ friends as Blaine had recently described them, but something felt weird about their relationship being called that, though Kurt couldn’t quite put his finger on what. 

He supposed his best option was his father, though that would lead to having to admit about the whole kissing scenario, besides, Burt had already suffered a heart attack, he couldn’t add any more stress.

But Kurt had already been stood by his locker, bag clutched to his side, fear written across his features for a good few minutes. He needed to move, do something, but what? He just wanted to lock himself in a bathroom cubicle and cry, but before he could begin to debate that prospect, Coach Beiste had caught his eye from across the hall and was rapidly approaching him.

“Hummel? Are you okay? What happened?” she questioned, cocking her head to the side in confusion. Kurt dared himself to look up and meet her, but the moment he saw her gaze flicking across his already blotched cheeks, his face crumpled and he let out a strangled sob. He ignored the fact onlookers stared at him, and just walked with Beiste as she took him by the arm and started leading him down the hall. “Hey, shh. It’s okay. Come on, we’re going to the Principal.” Kurt nodded dumbly, as they continued to walk, students parting like the red sea as they went. 

Passing the choir room, Coach leaned in and beckoned for Mr Schue to follow her, and though he first seemed unsure, the sight of Kurt’s distraught form caused his features to shift to concern, as he followed them down the hall.

Oh God. Oh God. This all felt far too real for Kurt. It felt official and like something was actually going to happen about Karofsky’s behaviour. This was real, he was going to be spoken to and questioned and asked about everything, he was going to have to admit to everything. The bullying, the kiss, the threat. No, he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t-

“Mr Hummel, take a seat.” Figgins said suddenly from behind a large, oak desk, and Kurt snapped his head up, looking around at the office. It was just him, Mr Schue and Coach Beiste, all looking at him expectantly. Warily, he shuffled over to one of the green leather chairs and slumped down, the rest of the teachers doing the same. There was silence for a moment, when Beiste spoke.

“I found him by the lockers, he looked terrified.” she stated, and the room turned on him.

“What happened Kurt?” Mr Schue asked, and Kurt looked up at him, realising only now he had been gnawing on his nails ever since sitting down, and opened his hoarse throat to try and formulate a sentence, but only let out a singular word.

“Karofsky…” He whispered, feeling there was more to say, but couldn’t think of an easy way to describe what the bully had done. There was no easy way.

“Karofsky? What did he do?” Coach Beiste asked, Kurt knowing she was aware of some of the bullying going on between the two footballers. Kurt wanted to answer, but again, shook his head. The teachers all shared looks with each other, until Figgins leant forward in his chair to survey Kurt.

“Mr Hummel, do you think it would be easier for you to write us a statement of what happened.” 

_A statement? Yes, that sounded good. He wouldn’t need to say anything then, he could explain it on paper._

He accepted a pen and notebook from Coach beiste, and began to scribble, the teachers all leaving the room for a moment to give him some privacy. As Kurt began to write, he made sure to include the smaller details of Dave’s bullying, like the locker shoves and taunts, but decidedly left out the kiss. He would never out someone, not even Dave, whose cruelty made it difficult to show any form of kindness towards him even in the slightest, but did not include it anyway. But he did talk about the threat, though not in so much fleshed out detail. More of a short sentence. 

Eventually, once he was satisfied with his explanation, Kurt beckoned the teachers back in, cautiously handing the book to Coach Beiste, as all they all leaned in to read. Kurt returned to biting at his nails apprehensivly, and watched as all of their facades remained neutral, until after three minutes or so they put the paper down as Beise turned on Kurt, beginning to explain what they were going to do in the kindest way possible. 

“Okay, we’re going to call your dad and bring him in-”

“No-”

“We have to, Kurt. He deserves to know. And then we’re going to call Karofsky’s parents and we’re going to sort this whole ordeal out-”

“But-”

“Kurt, please.” Mr Schue tried desperately, and Kurt looked up at his teachers eyes, as he seemed to be begging his student to see reason. Eventually, Kurt gave in, he turned back to Beiste with a determined expression, the same kind he wore before a game, ready to kick ass.

“Okay.” 

***

Blaine trudged down the steps of McKinley High, avoiding students as they pushed past him on their way to class, scowling at them. Ever since the Cheerios had lost at Regionals, people hadn’t quite been treating him with the same level of respect they had done before. The uniform felt worthless now without a trophy to back it up with. 

Suddenly, Blaine’s gaze flicked over to the opaque glass that held the principal’s office like a fish tank, and he saw Kurt exiting solemnly, along with his father, Coach Beiste, Principal Figgins, a round man who Blaine did not recognise and… Dave Karofsky? What was he doing in there? And with Kurt? Panic instantly built up inside of Blaine, and dozens of scenarios rushed into his head, wondering what had happened to cause the two boys to be leaving the Principal’s office together. 

But before he could dwell on it any longer, Karofsky (and what Blaine assumed was his father) stormed down the hall, blowing out hot air like a beast, as the bully swung his leg back and kicked a stray garbage can angrily, spilling trash all over the hall. Students ducked out of his way, pinning themselves up against the walls in fear, as Dave marched away from them, grunting. Once again, panic flooded Blaine, as he looked over at Kurt, who was gazing after Dave in upset, as his father squeezed his shoulder comfortingly and turned to discuss with Principal Figgins. 

“Kurt!” Blaine found himself calling before he could stop himself, hurrying down the steps to Kurt, who now he had grown closer to him, had puffy and red eyes. “What happened?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.” He brushed him off, beginning to walk away, though Blaine scurried after him. “I need to go to Glee.”

“Hey, hold it right there.” Blaine reasoned, stopping Kurt’s arms so they turned to face each other. “What’s going on?” 

Kurt’s stopped, sighing in defeat, training his gaze on the ground.

“I’m thinking about coming out to the Glee club.” he murmured in barely a whisper, and Blaine’s ears had to prick up in order to hear him.

“You are?” Kurt nodded dumbly at him, and Blaine grinned. “That’s amazing Kurt… What- what brought this on?” 

“Karofsky’s just been expelled.”

 _Wow_. That was not what Blaine was expecting. I mean… it was good for Kurt, this would free him from the bully’s torments… but why had that made him want to come out. He shouldn’t feel forced to after all, but then again, it was his choice. 

“Oh my God.” Blaine sighed, looking at Kurt’s broken form in worry. “How?”

“It’s a long story I’ll- I’ll tell you later.” Blaine felt there had been a rather large event that had occurred to spit this expulsion, but Kurt didn’t seem in the mood to tell, so dropped it. He pressed on. “But I’m not doing this because of Karofsky, or because I- I feel like I have to or anything… I’m doing this for me.” Blaine smiled and nodded at him, though not feeling entirely convinced, and it seemed Kurt must have noticed, because he smirked and let out a soft laugh. “And besides, I have a boyfriend now, it’s gonna be getting kinda obvious when Seb shows up to school to pick me up for a date.” At this, Blaine couldn’t help but smile. 

“Yeah, that- that makes sense.” They shared a look for a moment, and Kurt’s eyes seemed less red than they were when Blaine had first seen him a few minutes ago, and his tear streaked face was now definitely less obvious. “Well, do you think you’re ready? Are you gonna do it now?”

“Yeah.” He admitted, and Blaine’s lips turned up at the corners slightly, in what he hoped was a comforting manner. “This may be a long shot, but do you think you could come with me? I know you’re not in Glee anymore, but I’d like you to be there. You know, for moral support.”

“Of course.” he answered immediately, as the two began to walk down the hall to the choir room in a comfortable silence. As they entered, the club all began to instantly protest at Blaine’s entrance, before he quickly explained to Mr Schue in what he was doing there in the vaguest way possible, and the teacher allowed him in, though reminded him he was not yet allowed to join fully again. Blaine smiled thankfully and took a seat at the back, away from the rest of the group. Kurt took centre spot in the room, inhaling a deep, shuddering breath, then began to talk.

“So, recently something pretty big has happened and, um… the news of it will probably all reach you all at some point, but I’m sure you are aware of Dave Karofsky and his uh… bullying.” Oh wow, Kurt seemed nervous, Blaine wanted to get up and hug him, but resolutely stayed in his seat as Kurt continued, voice shaking. “But he’s been picking on me because he has had some suspicions about who I am… and I’m sure you’ve all had similar ones that he had.” This was whe Kurt’s gaze flicked over to Blaine, seemingly looking for help or support that he could give, and Blaine simply nodded encouragingly at him. Kurt’s body swelled, as if he was filled with courage. Courage. “I’m sure you’ve all thought it, and a few of you already know, but…” He took another breath, scanning over the room, over every person’s facial expressions, which were all kind and supportive. They knew what was coming. “... I’m gay.” 

Instantly, just as the words came from Kurt's mouth, Mercedes rose from her seat and enveloped the shaking boy in a hug, in which he returned, breathing deeply into her shoulder. This contact was soon followed by Brittany, and then Rachel, Quinn, Santana, Mike, Tina, until the whole club was on their feet closing Kurt in with a large group hug. Blaine got to his feet, choosing to remain on the outside of the circle at first, feeling flooded with pride for Kurt’s bravery. He had been through so much, and this must feel like the end of that torturous road for him, where he could just enjoy his High school experience without the fear of Dave fucking Karofsky stalking the halls.

As everyone released Kurt, Blaine stepped forward to meet the boy, so they stood face to face. He was smiling, and his hands had quelled from their shaking and now hung low by his side. Kurt let out a small life, and reached up to wipe a tear from his face.

“You did it.” Blaine murmured as Kurt nodded, sniffing. 

“Yes I did.” he chuckled wetly. 

“Any regrets?” Kurt’s mouth twitched to the side in thought, pondering his answer in a mocking way. Blaine grinned at him broadly as Kurt met his gaze again, a look of fiery determination written in his eye. 

“Not one.”

***

The room buzzed with excited chatter and children ran between the tables in a good natured game of tag. Then the bride and groom entered, and applause spread across the room. There was the scraping of chairs as folks got up for a standing ovation, and the happy couple made their way to the head table, smiling and holding hands. They sat in front of a bouquet of orange roses and the groom leaned in for a kiss. There were cheers and someone whooped. After a few moments, none other than Kurt Hummel rose from his chair and everyone else sat back down. The sound of his teaspoon rapping on the side of his wineglass signalled everyone to silence, except the children who were shushed by their parents.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, if I could please grab your attention for one moment. I’m sure I can say on the behalf of my dad and stepmom Carole...” Blaine smiled as Kurt said that last bit with such pride, shifting slightly as he grinned at the woman, who looked on the verge of tears. “...that we are so grateful for all of you who made it out to attend today, and before we get you all onto the dance floor, I would like to say a few words.” Kurt paused for a second, raising the champagne glass he held in his hand and tipping slightly towards his father. 

“When I was little, though I was young, I knew my Dad to be at his happiest when he was with my mom. And after she died I was scared I would never seem him smile the way he did with her… until he met Carole.” A soft coo echoed around the hall, and Blaine could see confidence fill Kurt, as the boy blushed softly and pressed on. “Carole, I wanted to say thank you. Not only for accepting and loving my father, despite all his crazy…” The room chuckled lightly at this, though Kurt kept his gaze trained on his stepmom. “... But also thank you for loving me like any mother would, and loving like a son. And Finn, thank you for accepting me as a brother. It’s nice to know that- that there’s someone who has my back, through anything.” The two now brothers shared a last look, before they broke their gaze and Kurt lifted his glass in finality. “To Burt and Carole.”

Blaine sat for a few minutes after Kurt’s speech, watching the bride and groom stumble around the dance floor, laughing when Burt stepped on his wife’s toes. It was true love they had, and Blaine found himself gazing at them longingly, wondering whether one day he’d have that. However, he was caught off guard as a certain someone plonked themself down on the chair next to him, seeming flushed and high on excited energy.

“Hi.” Kurt breathed, adjusting the button on his suit carefully, which he looked stunning in, by the way. 

“I liked your toast.” Blaine commented, smiling as he surveyed the boy before him, who shrugged nonchalantly.

“Meant every word.” He grinned, before gazing back at his parents, giddy. They stayed in silence for a moment, both watching Burt step on Carole’s toes as the newlyweds danced clumsily, causing Kurt to scoff. “God he’s a bad dancer isn’t he?” Blaine chuckled. 

“Well… he’s no Mike Chang.” Suddenly, Blaine felt two hands on his shoulders, shaking him happily. 

“I heard my name.” Mike said, laughing as he moved to sit by the two of them, both boys having to crane their necks to see their friend. Blaine knew Mike to have been pretty cool about the whole Cheerios thing, and they were still relatively friendly with each other.

“Hey.” 

“Having fun?” Kurt asked, Mike lighting up as his eyes flicked back and forth, as if in recollection. 

“Oh yeah, the service was so much fun!” Blaine scoffed at this, causing Mike and Kurt to turn to him in confusion.   
  
“The service was _fun_? I don’t think that’s the aim of most wedding’s.”

“Usually, but at _this_ wedding we performed Marry You by Bruno Mars and we all danced down the aisle. It was so great, you should’ve seen it- ow! What was that for?” Mike exclaimed, glaring at Kurt in annoyance, reaching down and nursing his leg in pain. Kurt jerked his head at the dancer angrily, nodding to Blaine, who definitely knew the reason to their silence, and what he assumed was Kurt kicking Mike under the table, forcing him to shut up. He didn’t want anyone talking about Glee in front of him, because it might be too painful, which though he would never admit it, it was. Blaine supposed Kurt was trying to be nice, but in fact, it only made his departure from the club seem more real, though he didn’t show this. He just shrugged and sighed, placing his eyes back on the dance floor. 

“It’s fine. You can talk about Glee in front of me. There’s no hope for me joining again now.”

“Don’t say that. Mr Schue will come around.” Kurt tried, and Blaine shook his head dismissively. 

“I don’t know if he will. You should have seen him the other day, _lecturing_ me about disloyalty and lack of the team spirit.” 

“Mike! Come dance!” Suddenly, Tina appeared by her boyfriend's side, taking him by the hand and dragging him to the centre of the room, the song now having changed and Burt and Carole scurrying from the dance floor, laughing at their efforts of ballroom.

“Coming! See you later guys.” Mike said, running off from the table, kissing his girlfriend's cheek lovingly. As Blaine watched them depart, his eyes panned over to Kurt, who gazed after them longingly, and something sparked in Blaine, the face of a tall meerkat swimming into his mind. 

“Bet you’re missing Sebastian, huh?” Surprisingly, Kurt twitched his mouth to the side and shook his head. 

“I probably should be, but I’m not weirdly enough. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for him to be here, but there’s something… I dunno, _serious_ about wedding’s. Our relationship is pretty lighthearted so far, inviting him to a wedding would make it, I dunno, official.” 

That was not what Blaine was expecting to come out of Kurt, and he scanned the boy up and down in shock. 

“ _What_ , do you have commitment issues or something?”

“God no. It’s just… it’s my first ever relationship, with a boy I mean. I don’t wanna screw it up.” Kurt took his eyes from the dance floor, where they had been trained for the last few minutes, looking over at Blaine softly, making his heart flutter lightly. “Do you wanna dance?”

“Sure.” Blaine said immediately, getting to his feet and walking out to the floor. “I hope you’re better at this than you were last time.” Kurt spun and looked at him. 

“When?”

“Baby it’s Cold Outside?” Kurt seemed to have recalled the event and smirked, cheeks glowing red. “You kept stepping on my toes?”

“It’s not my fault your feet were in my way.”

“That logic makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense actually.”

At this, Blaine took his chance, placing his hand to Kurt’s back and pulling him in so their chests were aligned, rising and falling against each other. They danced along to the rhythm of the music, much like the other couples around them did. Kurt smiled at Blaine, before looking down to watch the movement of his feet, and Blaine noticed him being very careful with his placement of them. It felt much like December, where they had waltzed playfully through the snow, singing Baby it’s Cold Outside. Probably, one of the large differences was that there was something about that previous moment that felt more… romantic perhaps. This felt purely friendly, and Blaine couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

“Look at that, I’ve gotten better.” Kurt exclaimed, causing Blaine to remember that the boy hadn’t stepped on his feet... _yet_. He laughed. 

“You have. All of my toes are completely intact and there will be no need to call an ambulance.”

“Oh shut up.” Kurt teased, slapping him on the shoulder and raising their conjoined hands a little higher. “Just dance with me.” 

And they did. All the way until the song played out it’s final notes, they laughed and talked comfortably, teasing each other on their dance abilities. 

“Seriously, Blaine, you look like a fish trying to walk when you dance. You like… _pin_ your knees together and click your fingers while smiling joyfully, like you're trying to distract the audience from your mermaid legs by putting on a huge show face.” Blaine scoffed at Kurt.

“Well at least _I_ have more than one move. You have a habit of shimmying your shoulders and then wagging your finger all sassy.”

“Piss of, Anderson. You _love_ the shimmying.” Blaine smirked, ducking his head and smiling.

“I do.”

They continued like this for a good few minutes, bickering and offering spiteful comments to each other as time ran away from them, until they parted regretfully, clapping in the direction of a woman neither recognised, who had been singing. She took a bow and stumbled off the stage, bubbly and joyful. The two clapped and whooped for her along with the crowd, grinning. This was when Kurt and Blaine made their way from the dance floor and towards the punch bowls, feeling light and cheerful.

“Thank you for the dance Mr Anderson.” Kurt said, mocking a pompous voice and failing in doing a British accent.

Blaine giggled.“Ah, and you Mr Hummel.” Kurt shook his head and grinned at him, sharing a look with the boy, both of them slightly out of breath and completely elevated by their back and forth humour, before Kurt spoke up.

"So have you got a plan?"

"Huh?'

"A plan? I thought you were gonna sing something for Mr Schue to get back in Glee?" Kurt explained as if it were obvious, and Blaine nodded in recognition. 

"Oh right, yeah. Uh... you know what, I think I'm just gonna leave it, if you don't mind. I don't know if it will sway their opinion at all, and honestly I'm just enjoying the wedding." Blaine expected Kurt to be slightly mad at this, but he just smiled and rubbed Blaine shoulder calmly. 

"Okay, no worries." Suddenly, they were interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone coming from Kurt’s pocket. He pulled out his device and stared at the caller ID, instantly lighting up as he saw what the screen read. 

“It’s Seb. I’ll see you later Blaine, I’ve gotta take this.” Though disappointed set over him, Blaine smiled and simply nodded kindly. 

“Of course, he’s your boyfriend after all.” Kurt grinned at him broadly, accepting the call and nodding in Blaine’s direction, mouthing a _‘see you later’._

“Seb! Hey, how are you? How’s the trip going…” And with that, Kurt was engulfed into the crowd chatting away on the phone happily, laughing at something Sebastian had said. Blaine sighed after his friend, surprising himself with how easy he found it to listen to their conversation, at how it wasn’t as heart wrenchingly painful to push the jealousy building in his stomach away than it used to be. 

It seemed he was beginning to accept Kurt’s moving on, and perhaps begin to live with the fact that they truly were never meant to be together. It hurt, of course it did, all crushes do, but there was not much he could do now but appreciate the friendship he had with the boy, it was much better than nothing.

Yes, Blaine did still needed to faze out the whole ‘fake boyfriend’ situation he had muddled himself in, but once that was done they could go back to normal, perhaps better than normal. Their friendship was stronger Blaine felt, and it seemed there would be more in store for them, even if it was just platonic. Blaine thought their friendship would be just fine, even though if it was up to him he himself would be in Sebastian’s position. 

They’d be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Burt and Carole = the most stable relationship on Glee.


	22. The Boy is Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little shorter than my other chapters, but quality over quantity ya know? And since none of this is quality I apologise ;)

**THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF THE CHEERIOS - GROUP CHAT**

_MEMBERS - BLAINE ANDERSON, SANTANA LOPEZ, QUINN FABRAY AND BRITTANY. S PIERCE_

SANTANA LOPEZ : _hey bitches, i need to talk to y’all_

BLAINE ANDERSON : _What is it San, I didn’t even realise this gc was still in use_

QUINN FABRAY : _yeah, we haven’t used this chat in ages. me, you and britt aren’t even in the cheerios anymore._

SANTANA LOPEZ : _i know, but this is reeeallllyyy important_

BRITTANY S PIERCE : _be quick, lord tubbington wants me to give him a back massage and he gets really cranky when i’m late for his five oclock bath time and pamper._

BLAINE ANDERSON : _…_

QUINN FABRAY : _… i’m just gonna breeze past that._

SANTANA LOPEZ : _do you wanna hear my news or not???_

BLAINE ANDERSON: _Just freaking tell us._

SANTANA LOPEZ : c _hill out i’ll tell you. okay, so i was helping kurt pack up his room into boxes last night for him to move to his new house with frankenteen, when i found something under his bed…_

QUINN FABRAY : _what the hell santana?! you can’t go snooping around in kurt’s room like that._

SANTANA LOPEZ : _i know, but if i hadn’t snooped he may have kept it a secret and we wouldn’t be able to help him._

BLAINE ANDERSON : _help him?_

SANTANA LOPEZ : _exactly, do you wanna know what i found?_

BLAINE ANDERSON : _that privacy is dead?_

SANTANA LOPEZ : _no, i found a pack of condoms._

QUINN FABRAY : _wait… really?_

BLAINE ANDERSON : _Are you serious?_

SANTANA LOPEZ : _yes, an unused pack of them under his bed._

QUINN FABRAY : _but kurt told me he and sebastian were taking things slow._

SANTANA LOPEZ : _that’s exactly what he told me when i asked him._

BLAINE ANDERSON: _YOU ASKED HIM?_

SANTANA LOPEZ : _i didn't ask about the condoms! i was curious so i subtly slipped it into the conversation how things with seb were going, and he said “good” and i said “so have you had sex” and he said they were taking things slow._

QUINN FABRAY : _wow, subtle._

SANTANA LOPEZ : _i don’t appreciate your sarcasm fabray._

BLAINE ANDERSON : _what are you trying to tell us?_

SANTANA LOPEZ : _this may sound like a longshot, but i have a theory that sebastian is pressuring kurt into sex._

QUINN FABRAY : _santana that is awful. you can’t just assume something like that!_

SANTANA LOPEZ : _but it all adds up! he's been so quiet recently, and i know kurt doesn’t like to admit it but he’s not very experienced in the field of boyfriends and dating, but sebastian is. i’m just scared for him, i’m worried seb wants to take things faster than kurt wants to because that’s what he’s used to. and even if he’s not pressuring him, he’s still thinking about it, why else would there be condoms under his bed?_

BLAINE ANDERSON : _Maybe the condoms are actually Kurt’s._

SANTANA LOPEZ : _blaine, i don't think our little kurtie even knows where to buy condoms._

Blaine stared at his phone in disbelief. He didn’t like to think of the idea that Sebastian was doing anything with Kurt that he wasn’t comfortable with. While it pained Blaine that the two were together he still wanted Kurt to be happy and safe, and in honesty, he kind of understood where Santana was coming from. 

Ever since the wedding and Sebastian had gotten back from his trip with his parents, Kurt had been unusually quiet. Perhaps it was true, and maybe Seb _was_ making Kurt do or consider things he wasn’t happy with. And as Quinn and Santana had said, Kurt had implied on multiple occasions that they were taking things slow. In fact, he had said it so much that Blaine had to wonder whether it was true, or whether he was covering up Seb’s actions because he was embarrassed?

When the next day of school rolled around, Blaine headed to the choir room. He wasn’t in Glee anymore, but it still felt like a secure and safe place to think. He didn’t know whether it was smart to talk to Kurt about his suspicions or not, or just to simply let it be. Either way, he was concerned for his best friend and wanted time to mull over the idea, which was why he was extremely frustrated when none other than Sebastian Smythe walked into the choir room, just as he was wanting to sit and think. The boy saw Blaine and grinned. 

_{authors note : take this next conversation between seb and blaine lightly. my sister and i wrote this late at night whilst high on sugar and were definitely feeling way funnier than we actually were. idk what’s happening in it but i dunno i guess it’s kinda amusing in an over dramatic sort of way. basically it makes no sense but we thought it was hilarious at the time, take that into account. sorry, enjoy your reading}_

“Hey. _Blaine_ , was it?” Seb asked, and Blaine simply nodded, leaning forward in his chair so his knotted together hands rested on his knees. Seb pressed on. “We met a couple weeks back, where’s Kurt?” 

“How could you do that to Kurt?” Blaine found himself speaking before he could stop himself, and the taller boy seemed taken aback, clueless in fact.

“What?” Blaine huffed deeply and rose from his seat, taking two long strides towards Seb. 

“‘Oh please, don’t act _dumb_ , Smythe. I’ve heard the rumours, Santana told me about the condoms under Kurt’s bed, you’re pressuring him into…” Blaine looked to the side cautiously, and then back to Sebastian, mouthing his next words so they were practically inaudible, a faint blush pattering his cheeks. " _Sex_.” 

“Oh my _God_ , how old are you, baby penguin?”

“Baby penguin? I’ve watched PORN! And not just regular porn, GAY PORN. I masturbated last night-”

“Didn’t need to know that.”

“I may have lost track of my point, but it remains the same, you are a bad man Sebastian Smythe.” Seb sighed as Blaine spoke and began to walk towards a stray bench, where he took a seat and patted the space next to him, offering for Blaine to sit. 

“Ok, sit down baby penguin-”

“Stop calling me that.” said Blaine likely, choosing to remain standing in a stiff position. Seb seemed to ignore him and pressed on. 

“Look, it’s very obvious you like Kurt, I get it, I’ve had my share of crushes over the years and I’m sure you have too. And from what I hear you’ve told him you have a boyfriend, which I know for a fact you don’t.” Blaine scoffed and moved across the room to the board, where he began aimlessly doodling hearts as some sort of distraction method. 

“And how did you figure _that_ out?”

“Well I have it on good authority that you spend _your_ evenings locked in Kurt’s brother’s room with your glee club friends.” 

“Who told you that?” 

“Finn did.” Blaine raised his eyebrow in suspicion. 

“How do _you_ know Finn?” 

“I’m literally dating his brother! What part of this aren’t you getting? You’re very slow on the uptake, baby penguin-” 

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!” Blaine stamped his foot like a toddler and folded his arms, as Seb just stared at him with an unimpressed, mundane expression. He seemed to have some sort of sympathy written in his eyes, and once again, beckoned Blaine over to take a seat by him. The only difference was that this time, Blaine accepted the offer and slumped down besides the boy, refusing to look at his eyes in favour of fiddling with the pen in his hand. Seb spoke. 

“Look, you need to back off. I see why you like Kurt, he’s awesome.” 

“I know.” 

“And he’s pretty.” 

“I know.” 

“And smart, and witty, and fun, and talented” 

“You can stop rubbing it in my face what I don’t have, it doesn’t make it hurt any less.” Blaine snapped, Seb sighing deeply and rising from his seat to move over to the piano, where he leant up against the edge and knotted his arms together. 

“I’m sorry, Blaine. I get this is awful, I hate to imagine the thought of having these feelings for Kurt but not having him, it would be awful. But you don’t have him, I do, and you need to suck it up and accept that _the boy is mine_.” At that simple phrase, an idea struck Blaine and he jumped to his feet, gasping and pointing at Seb with some sort of spark of inspiration. 

“That’s it!” he shrieked, and Sebastian cocked his head to the side, having not yet reacted to Blaine and his over the top way of expression. 

“What?” 

“Brian, hit it!” Blaine pointed towards the door, and a measly looking Brian shuffled into the room, back hunched over and glasses tipped on the brim of his nose. He huffed and took a seat at the piano. Seb’s eyes darted from Brian to Blaine in shock, before he threw his hands in the air overdramtically. 

“WHERE DID BRIAN COME FROM?” 

“I’ve had him on standby this whole time.” 

“You have been preparing a song?” 

“Of course I have! I’m in GLEE CLUB!” Seb shook his head in disbelief at this, when Blaine quickly corrected himself. “Well, I _was_ in Glee club. But that’s a long story-” 

“How did you even know I was coming?” 

“I have my ways.” Seb slapped his hands to his forehead and groaned. 

“You just always have Brian on standby don’t you?” 

“Of _course_ I always have Brian on standby, you never know when you’re gonna need to belt out an impromptu ballad” 

“This is insane!” exclaimed Seb with a chuckle lacing with words, as Blaine smirked. 

“So you’re not gonna sing?” 

“Of _course_ I’m gonna sing!”

Instantly, as soon as he spoke, the opening bars to ‘The Boy is Mine’ began to play, and Blaine circled the room, Sebastian remaining adjacent to him as they glared at each other angrily. It felt like one of them was about to pounce on the other and engage in a physical fight, before Blaine started singing. 

_You need to give it up_

_Had about enough_

_It's not hard to see_

_The boy is mine_

_I'm sorry that you_

_Seem to be confused_

_He belongs to me_

_The boy is mine_

Sebastian’s lip curled in an unpleasant snarl, as Blaine leapt across the room and to the back of the row of chairs, staring down at him, opening his arms and twirling in what he thought was an intimidating way. It wasn’t. 

_You see I know that you may be_

_Just a bit jealous of me_

_But you're blind if you can't see_

_That his love is holding me_

_See I tried to hesitate_

_I didn't want to say what he told me_

_He said without me he couldn't make it_

_Through the day, ain't that a shame_

Sebastian approached Blaine as he jumped down from his high spot at the top of the choir room and back down to his level, walking up to him and placing his fore finger on his chest and backing up, before Blaine returned the gesture in a similar way, getting all up in his face and singing his heart out angrily. Sebastian shoved him lightly, before moving away, though keeping direct fiery eye contact. 

_Must you do the things you do_

_You keep on acting like a fool_

_You need to know it's me not you_

_And if you didn't know it, boy it's true_

_I think that you should realize_

_And try to understand why_

_He is a part of my life_

_I know it's killing you inside_

Blaine had never heard Sebastian sing, and hated how good he was. Geez, this guy could do freaking everything. But Blaine got to wondering as they returned to their circling of each other, whether he could dance. Sure, Kurt had described his dancing as ‘a fish trying to walk’ before, but he was sure he was better than _Sebastian Smythe_ at that… right? It was worth a shot. 

_See I tried to hesitate_

_I didn't want to say what he told me_

_He said without me he couldn't make it_

_Through the day, ain't that a shame_

_But maybe you misunderstood_

_'Cause I can't see how he could_

_Wanna change something that's so good_

_All my love was all it took (the boy is mine)_

Blaine spun on the spot and began to move his limbs in practiced movement, recreating a routine Sue had taught him a while ago that Blaine felt went well with this particular song, keeping his eyes trained on Seb as he did so, and felt his heart sink when the boy only scoffed and did a _freaking backflip,_ before shrugging casually and continuing to sing. Blaine had never hated him more than it that moment, as he scowled angrily, proceeding with their vocal fight. 

_I'm sorry that you_

_Seem to be confused_

_He belongs to me_

_The boy is mine!_

“What the _fuck_ is going on here?” Suddenly, as the song finished and Sebastian and Blaine had found themselves face to face, scowling at each other in a mixture of rage and envy, Kurt had interrupted their little sing along by walking through the door, holding his coat, ready to go. Sebastian jumped six feet away from Blaine and flushed a deep red, seemingly embarrassed. 

“Babe, hi.” he muttered with embarrassment, as Kurt’s eyes flicked from Seb to Blaine in shock, exhaling. 

“Oh my God, Seb, what did you do?” 

“I didn’t do anything, it was him!” he defended, pointing a childish, accusatory finger at Blaine, who stared at the ground meekly. Kurt turned on him. 

“Okay, _Blaine_ , what did you do?” 

“I-I- He- you… I- I sang really good.” he mumbled like a five year old. Seb and Blaine seemed scared, like kids being lectured by a parent. 

“You- what, why?” 

“I was protecting your honour.” Kurt groaned at this.

“My _honour_? What- what are you talking about?” 

“He’s making you do stuff you’re not comfortable with!” Blaine stuttered, nodding towards Sebastian, who was now talking to Brian in what seemed an apologetic way. Kurt smirked suggestively. 

“Trust me Blaine, I’m very comfortable with everything we’re doing.” Kurt caught Seb’s eye and winked at his boyfriend, who blushed and returned the gesture. Blaine rolled his eyes and kicked the ground angrily. He hated this. “So, did you _both_ sing?” 

“Yeah, babe. We did.” admitted Seb, who stalked back over to them, hands in his pockets, shifty. 

“Yeah, babe. We did.” Blaine repeated innocently, only realising what he had said when the two boyfriends turned on him in shock. Blaine panicked, now it being obvious his slip of the tongue, blushing almost painfully. “What- I mean… shit. _Kurt_ . I meant Kurt. Yeah, _Kurt_ , we did.” Seb shook his head at him incredulously, as Kurt smirked, looking as though he were biting back a laugh. Blaine scrunched his features up and placed his head to his hands, feeling like crawling up in a ball on the floor and allowing the somewhat clean choir room to swallow him whole. “I’m just gonna go.” 

“It’s fine, we’ll go.” Kurt finalized, taking his boyfriend’s hand and marching from the room, though not before doing so, Sebastian turned around discreetly and mouthed something at Blaine, which he could vaguely make out if he thought hard enough:

“It’s like you’re not even trying.”

***

Cardboard boxes were stacked up all around the bare, pale room as Kurt surveyed his new home, which he had been given a very brief tour around by Carole before being shown to his bedroom. It was moving day, and Kurt felt to exhausted to even fathom doing anything. This place would be his safe place, his escape from the world, and he hadn’t even started unpacking. 

He felt wrong to be standing in the house, it felt like it wasn't his. Kurt supposed that would have something to do with the new house possessing little meaning to him and his life, while his basement had been a special place, it had been where he had discovered his love for designing and singing and Gilmore Girls, where he had come to terms with his sexuality, where he had come out to his father. But now he was here, in a strange room about to sleep in a strange bed with strange walls and with his new stepmom and brother, who weren’t strange in the slightest, but it was still all very new to him.

“Can I come in?” a deep voice spoke from outside Kurt’s door, and he smiled at the recognition of his father. 

“Yeah sure.”

Burt Hummel shuffled into the room, placing his hands on his hips and admiring the bare walls with forced interest. 

“Wow.” he breathed, though not in a very convincing way. “This is good isn’t it?” Kurt nodded, looking about.

“Yeah, I’ve got loads of ideas for what to do with it.”

“Well do you want some help?” asked Burt, as Kurt ventured towards one of the boxes and began pulling out clothes.

“Yeah, sure.”

The two got to work, organizing and unpacking items, starting on the supposed 'building blocks' of the design first. They laid the bedspread and set up the vanity and any bookshelves, until it was just decor left to do. Burt reached into one box, pulling out a framed photo and frowning. 

“Hey, who’s this?” he said suddenly, grabbing Kurt’s attention from across the room, who looked round and down at the object in his dad's hands, realisation painting his features. He scurried over and snatched the picture from his clutch. The image was of him and Seb, a selfie they had taken a while ago in which Sebastian had his arms wrapped around Kurt’s shoulders, nose nuzzled into his neck and grinning. Kurt smiled slightly at the memory of the evening it was taken, before shaking it off and placing the photo by the side of his bed. 

“Sebastian.” he answered, and Burt cocked his head. 

“Sebastian?” he repeated, Kurt now avoiding the man’s eye, nodding numbly. “ _Oh_ , you mean that kid you went out with last week?”

“Yes, that’s him.” he mumbled, hoping to push the subject off now, but Burt pressed on.

“Hm, well you seem awfully friendly with him in that picture.” he stated, and Kurt bit his lip. Before, he had hoped he wouldn’t have to tell Burt about Sebastian until later on in their relationship, but felt now that fate was catching up to him. “Something you’re not telling me?” Kurt groaned, and turned on his father. 

“Okay fine, if you must know, we’ve been… dating for the past few weeks.” he snapped, and Burt seemed taken aback, eyebrows shooting up to his forehead. 

“Dating? As in _boyfriend_ dating?”

“Yeah.” Kurt laughed slightly, meeting his dad’s eye, who was observing him with interest. 

“Well what happened to that _Blaine_ kid?”

“Blaine? Really?” Kurt scoffed immediately, shaking his head and beginning to work on unpacking his next box. 

“What about Blaine? You two were hanging out for ages and- and you went out and did stuff together-”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t just the two of us we were with other people...” Kurt explained, though Burt seemed sceptical, as he smirked in defeat. “ _Most_ of the time.”

“Most of the time?”

“It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m with Sebastian now, so nothing’s gonna happen.” Burt nodded, now fiddling with a random snow globe that he had taken from one of the boxes adjacent to him labelled _‘childhood shit’._

“Well... you know I’m gonna want to meet this boyfriend of yours.” said Burt, and Kurt giggled. 

“I know, Dad.” he smiled, walking over to his fireplace and shifting one of the candles over a few centimetres, for no other reason than wanting a distraction. Burt sighed, sensing the hint Kurt was hoping was very obvious by now. 

“Well then, I’ve got to go, but I’ll check in with you later.”

“Okay.” Kurt breathed, taking one of the boxes and beginning to rifle through it. Burt was about half way through the door, when he stopped and looked over his shoulder at his son, who was now busying himself with a blue shirt he was sorting in his new wardrobe. 

“Hey Kurt,” he said suddenly, turning to survey his son. He hesitated for a moment, before speaking calmly. “I love you.” Instantly, Kurt softened on his father and sighed, his shoulder slumping from their before tense facade. He watched his dad, stood so carefully by the door while watching his son, with a kind look in his eyes. Kurt’s lips turned up gently. 

“Love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of messily written, but honestly this chapter was more for my entertainment since it's nearly Christmas. But I have high hopes for futures chapters, have got so much inspiration for them and so excited to get started!!


	23. Teach Your Boyfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, well would you look at what the cat dragged in? Guess I'm back from the dead after ages of not updating (apologises for that btw). I cannot promise from now on I'll have a regular upload schedule, the UK's gone back into a National lockdown and I'm doing everything from home now so... yeah.
> 
> Here's some Klaine, this really cheered me up and I hope it does for you too!

It came to no one’s surprise that Kurt Hummel did not like Valentine’s day. Even with a boyfriend now, he still hated it. Whenever someone asked why he hated the holiday so intensely, he always had the same planned out speech prepared and ready to fire at them:

"It’s shitty and stupid. Who thought it was a good idea to have a holiday to mis-teach young people what love is, entice them to be greedy and take someone's love and time for granted. Plus, think of the economy. All those cards, chocolates, sweat-shop lingerie items in chemical dyed tissue." He would explain, instantly shooting down whatever counter-argument the opposing side also had. 

But alas, no matter how much he hated both the celebration, every year when it rolled round he was obliged to somewhat enjoy it. Mr Schue of course had set them the assignment of singing _‘the world’s greatest love songs’._

Rachel was for sure going to belt out some old Broadway show stopper that will bring either everyone or absolutely no one to tears, while Kurt would love to hear Mercedes sing something, she had the voice of an angel. Of course Quinn will want to sing to Sam, or vice versa. Tina will probably sing to Mike, but Kurt couldn’t think of many other couples other than that.

“So what are you gonna sing for this week's assignment Kurt?” Finn asked nonchalantly, as the two now step-brothers walked across the Football field on their way to practice. Kurt looked at the taller boy and shrugged.

“I don’t know. Seb doesn’t go to this school, so it’s not like I can sing to him.” he replied, slumping down on the benches and beginning to re-tie his laces, as Finn took a seat next to him, which in truth was slightly odd. They usually only spoke properly at home, mostly because they felt obliged too. It felt as though Finn had something more he wanted to say, so Kurt pressed on. “What about you? What are you gonna sing?”

“I’m going to sing a love song to Quinn-”

“I’m gonna stop you right there.” Kurt immediately interrupted, heart sinking to the pit of his stomach as he heard the idea. God, the boy was an idiot sometimes. “Quinn? Really? You two are broken up and she’s dating another guy, not a good idea.” 

“I know, but I just thought-”

“No, don’t think. It’s a terrible thought and will only end in heartbreak. What do you think she’s going to do? Hear you sing and immediately come running back into your arms? I don’t think so.” Kurt finished decidedly, sighing and patting Finn’s shoulder, hoping he had gotten through to his step-brother. He loved the boy, but he really could be thick sometimes. Suddenly, saving them both from any further conversation, Coach Beiste stepped up before the Football team with a worried look in her eyes. Never a good sign.

“Bad news guys.” she started, staring down at her clipboard irritably. “We’ve lost our funding.” At first, confusion hummed over the group, as Kurt quirked his brow quizzically. 

“What do you mean we’ve lost our funding?”

“Can we still compete at the Championship?”

“Screw this shit! I’ll take on whoever has it out for us!”

Kurt stayed silent as his team were sent up in a frenzy of protests. Beiste raised her hands to settle everyone down, and as that failed, she blew on her whistle loudly, the ringing circling the stadium. Immediately, everyone went quiet. Coach continued. 

“There was a minor problem in transferring the money we got from Sue’s Cheerios. It turns out the majority of it went to the Glee club, and we only got a small sum.”

“Great, just another reason for the Football team to hate us.” Finn muttered from the side of Kurt, who rubbed his temple and groaned. 

“As well as that, after Dave got expelled-” Eyes panned over to Kurt, who flushed and shrunk into his uniform. It had been rumoured he had something to do with the expulsion of Dave Karofsky, but no one knew why. At least Kurt hoped no one knew. “-one of our largest sponsors dropped out. Turns out they were friends of the Karofsky family all along, and were only putting money in our pot for him.” 

“This is such bullcrap. What are we gonna do?” Puck exclaimed angrily, as the rest of the team fell silent. Kurt sighed and pondered to himself. When he was a kid, if he wanted to raise money for something he would simply hold a mini fundraiser, like a lemonade stand or a garage sale. But that felt all but pointless now. Though, there was one idea that popped into his head that had potential of working. As well as that, it would kill two birds with one stone and give the Glee club a better and more productive assignment for the week, where the so-called _‘world’s greatest love songs’_ could be put to use. 

“We could hold a dance.” Kurt found himself speaking before he could help himself, and the team’s eyes all turned on him. Kurt got to his feet and began to explain, thinking on the spot. “A dance. A Valentine’s day dance. We can charge $5 entry and sell candy and beverages and stuff. I’m sure I could convince Glee to perform, and all the proceeds can go towards the Football team.” Kurt grew more and more confident in his idea as he spoke, flashing images of colour and heart decorations swimming around his head, the event already being mapped out in his brain. The team still seemed sceptical, as did Coach Beiste.

“That’s a good idea, Kurt. But who’s going to plan this thing?”

“I’ll do it.” answered Kurt with an air of confidence. “Seriously, I planned my dad’s wedding in one week, I’m sure I can handle a simple school dance. It can be called… ‘Cupid’s Club.’” At this, some players scoffed and laughed, but Kurt couldn’t bring himself to care. He liked the name, and had full confidence in his idea. Coach Beiste was now smiling and gently nodding her head. 

“Gents, I think we’re back in business!”

***

“I gotta say Hummel. You’re pretty good at this at-home spa shit. I don’t think I’ve ever been this relaxed before in my life.” Santana mused, sighing and sinking deeper into her chair. Kurt smiled over at her, not being able to see his friend due to the cucumber’s over his eyes. After a long and tiresome day at school, the two had returned to the Hummel-Hudson house for the night, where Kurt had insisted on getting into robes and applying some of his homemade face masks, and placing cucumber slices on their eyes while dipping their feet into foot massagers that he had received for Christmas last year. Santana had at first been sceptical, but soon settled into their leather chair and succumbed to the guaranteed relaxation. 

“I’m kinda magic like that.” Kurt answered, smiling and enjoying the feeling of the vibration at his feet and the hot water bubbling around them. Suddenly, making them both jump slightly, a ringing sounded by the side of Kurt’s chair, lasting for a few seconds before turning off. Kurt recognised it’s intention immediately and sighed. “Time to flip the cucumbers round.” There was a slight shuffle as the two reached up and took the slices from his eyes, turning them to the other side. As Kurt did returned them to his skin, the vegetable felt cool and refreshing against his skin, as he shuddered slightly at the gentle tingle. 

“Remind me why we have to flip the cucumbers?” asked Santana, and Kurt smirked. 

“Cucumbers are high in water content and vitamin K, which helps reduce any inflammation and basically makes your eyes less puffy.” he explained, and was surprised when he heard Santana scoff.

“Why do I feel like you googled that?”

“Oh, I did. I take my craft seriously.” 

For the next few minutes, they remained in a similar, comfortable silence, allowing the cucumber vitamins to soak into their skin. The foot massages whirred in their background, and every once in a while Santana or Kurt would sigh in pleasure, until the machines eventually turned off so the only sound heard was the whoosh of passing cars. 

“So how’s the dance planning coming along? Mr Schue seemed really eager when you recommended it to him.” asked Santana, Kurt shifting in his seat slightly. 

“Good. I spoke to Figgins about it and he thought it was a great idea, but he said I’d have to pay to rent out the gym, and I just don’t have that much money.”

“Well what are you gonna do?” The corner of Kurt’s mouth turned up slightly at this, and he removed his feet from the warm water that they had been dunked in for the past hour, and began drying them off with a towel, peeling off the slices on his eyes and placing them by his side. 

“I’m glad you asked. Take your cucumbers off.” he ordered, as Santana groaned and did so regretfully, swinging her legs around so they were facing each other. 

“Okay fine, but if I have puffy eyes tomorrow I’m holding you solely responsible.”

“Understood.” Kurt chuckled, and once he had the girl's full attention, he began to explain, his vision for the dance becoming all the more clear in his head as he described it. “Picture this: the whole school gathered on the Football field, a bonfire lit in the centre, cars parked everywhere as couples sit on the roofs of their various vehicles watching the Glee club perform on the stage that I’ll be setting up along the end. Imagine fairy lights hung up and red heart decorations everywhere you look. Music and dancing fill the air, it’s very fun and easy going. We’ll charge $5 entry and there will be a stand with confectionery and beverages being sold. And though this is something I never thought I’d say, the dress code will be relaxed and casual.” Kurt finished with his hands folded on his lap, studying Santana’s expression carefully. She looked impressed, and was nodding her head in consolidation. 

“I like it. I really like it.” she said “What did you say it’s called again?”

“Cupid’s Club.”

“That’s… good.” Kurt noticed the hesitation lacing her tone, but chose to ignore it. He liked the name, and no one else could tell him otherwise. However, there seemed to be something on Santana’s mind, as she kept glancing at Kurt nervously, looking as though she wanted to say something. “So are you inviting Seb?” Kurt groaned and straightened his posture. He should’ve seen that coming. The two friends had had this conversation together about ten times ever since Sebastian and Kurt had started dating. But alas, he already had his ritualistic answer prepared. 

“Uh… no, I- I don’t think I will.” As per usual, Santana crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. 

“What? Why the hell not? And don’t tell me it’s because you don’t want to rush your relationship, because inviting your boyfriend to a Valentine's day dance that _you’re_ holding is hardly rushing things.” 

“I know- I know. It’s just… I’m really scared.” Kurt admitted, shifting his gaze to the other side of the room and knotting his fingers together nervously while picking at his nails, a nervous habit he had recently picked up. “This is my first relationship, I don’t- I don’t want to screw it up by scaring him off or- or taking things too fast.” 

“I think we both know Seb isn’t like that.” 

“But what if he is? In reality, I don’t know that much about him. I'm so- so scared that the more I open up about myself to him... the less interested he’ll get.”

Wow. That was a big thing to admit. It had been playing at Kurt’s mind quite a bit recently, and he had never said it aloud to anyone before. Nervously, he chanced a look at Santana, who he expected to be taken aback or awkward, but instead, the girl spared him a kind and thoughtful glance as she reached over and placed a hand on his leg and rubbing calmly, before removing it with a sad smile. Immediately, for whatever reason, Kurt felt a warm and loving sensation overcome him. He felt safe in her presence. 

“I know you, Kurt. Better than you think. I know the little things about you, like how you snap your fingers at wait staff when you want your food to come, and how shoes that are pointed at first but then are rounded off at the end freak you out because they’re-”

“-A crime against fashion, yes.” Kurt finished for her, chuckling and ducking his head playfully. Santana smiled, before continuing. 

“But most of all, I know you’ve been through shit, I’ve seen you go through shit. And despite the fact you’ve opened loads of yourself up to me, even if you don’t realise you have... I’m still here.” Kurt took a moment, a moment to take in that sweet sentiment just expressed to him. He had never had a friend quite like Santana Lopez before. When they first met he didn’t think much of her. From an outward view, she was a bitchy cheerleader known for her cruel remarks and harsh quips. But getting to know the girl, made Kurt realise how she was so much more than her harsh exterior. He felt scarily safe with her. So safe he felt like he could admit anything and she would be free of judgement. 

“I think you’re my best friend.” Kurt said suddenly, smiling at Santana with a sentimental look. The girl grinned back happily and rolled her eyes. 

“You think?” she said sarcastically, reaching behind her and taking the cucumbers from her seat. “I know we are.” 

For a moment or so, the two stayed like that, gazing at each other as Kurt nodded slowly, barely being able to hide his smile. It seemed an understanding had been passed between them both, a promise of sorts, and Kurt felt completely calm. He felt as though one of them should speak, but what more was there to say after than? So glanced away and down at their outfits, chuckling heartily. 

“I’d totally hug you right now if we weren’t both wearing my nice white robes with green mush on our faces. These were expensive, I’m not staining them for anything.” Santana giggled and placed the cucumbers back on her eyes, leaning back and reclaiming her previous position in the chair. Kurt went to do the same, but stopped himself before he did so, eyes resting on the girl. “I love you ‘Tana.” he murmured, watching as Santana smiled ever so slightly behind the face mask. 

“Love you too Kurt.”

***

The restaurant was full to the brim and dull chatter floated throughout the air. Kurt thanked his past self for pre-booking tables for him and Seb, or they would’ve had to eat their meal outside leant up against the plaster walls of Breadstix. 

“You ready to order?” The waitress asked the two of them, and Seb jumped in first, explaining what he wanted in thorough detail. Kurt took that moment of quiet to survey the busy tables surrounding them. An old couple ate side by side across from him, one glass of wine each, studiously bent over their meals. Then again, adjacent to the two a group of young girls, looking as though they were in High school or collage were collapsing with helpless giggles on their long table, while a stern woman dining alone nearby looked on and frowned. Kurt found it so interesting how different it was every time he came to Breadstix. It depended on the people who dined what the mood for that evening was going to be. 

“Okay, great. Coming right up!” The waitress said, smiling and walking away from the two. Sebastian watched her leave for a second, before turning back to Kurt slowly, a happy grin on his face, a grin he had been wearing since dinner had started. Seb seemed particularly happy on this occasion, Kurt found. He kept bouncing in his seat and knitting his hands together, laughing at whatever Kurt said, even if it wasn’t all that funny. 

“What’s gotten you in such a good mood?” asked Kurt before he could help himself, as Seb snapped his head up at him, a blush patterning his cheeks. 

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” Kurt raised his eyebrow, because judging by the way Seb kept glancing at his pocket nervously, it definitely was something. 

“Go on, tell me.”

“No, you’ll laugh.” Seb giggled, as Kurt simply scoffed and rolled his eyes playfully. 

“Do you really think I’m that kind of person?” Seb seemed to take a second, gazing at Kurt with his bottom lip pulled up between his teeth. Eventually, he smirked and threw his hands up in defeat. 

“Okay, fine.” Kurt smiled and chuckled, sitting back in his seat expectantly. Seb placed his folded hands on the table and grinned, taking a deep breath before continuing. “It’s our one month anniversary, and I got you a gift.” Kurt’s mouth fell agape as Seb reached into his pocket and dug around. 

“You- Seb… you didn’t have to.”

“I didn’t have to, but I did.” From his jacket emerged a small object, though Kurt couldn’t quite see it despite the fact he craned his neck to get a glimpse, Seb had hidden it under the table after all. He took another deep breath, before pinching his lips together, closing his eyes and quickly placing it on the table, before retracting into his seat and looking in the opposite direction. Kurt found it all too endearing, like he was scared for his reaction. 

Gently, Kurt lent forward and took the thing. It was a frame no smaller than the palm of his hand, in which held a piece of white paper that had scribbled digits on it, digits that read out his phone number. 

“When we first met you wrote out your number on that very slip of paper.” Seb explained, a nervous smile tugging at his lips. 

“You kept it?” Kurt breathed, and Seb suddenly blushed again, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“Uh… yeah.” Kurt simply sighed and gazed down at the gift, tracing the ornate frame with his finger. Never in a million years did he imagine he’d have a boyfriend, let alone one as sweet as this. He didn’t quite know what to say, and gazed up at Seb calmly. As he did, and to Kurt's surprise, the boy's smile faltered slightly, and he plummeted his face into his hands, groaning. “Oh God, do you not like it? I knew it was too forward to give you such a sentimental gift. I’m sorry. I’ll just take it back and… uh, burn it up because this is really embarrassing-”

“Seb, stop.” Kurt reached forward and took one of Seb’s shaking hands into his own, holding the frame close to his heart happily. “I love it, so much. And if we weren’t currently having dinner at a restaurant in Ohio right now I would give you the biggest kiss, but since I can’t do that, I’ll just say thank you.” Seb smiled and blushed for the third time that evening. 

“Well, you’re welcome.”

“Hey guys!” A chirpy voice suddenly broke Kurt from his daze, and at it's arrival he quickly released Seb’s hand, mostly out of reflex, now staring up at none other than Brittany S Pierce bouncing over to the two of them, Artie following close behind her. 

“Hey Britt.” Kurt smiled up at the blonde happily, nodding towards Artie in acknowledgment. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We were just out for dinner. Thankfully, I pre-booked. It’s crowded here today.” Artie supplied as Kurt hummed in agreement. 

“I know right, everyone’s out for Valentine’s-” 

“You’re Kurtie’s dolphin!” Kurt jumped slightly as Brittany piped up loudly, having just been surveying Sebastian with interest, like he was a zoo animal, ever since the start of their interaction. It seemed to have taken the girl a moment to put two and two together, and when she did, apparently she felt the need to announce it to the whole room rather loudly.

“Uh, yes? I’m Sebastian.” Seb said, glancing over at Kurt in confusion, who was stifling his giggle with his hand. He always found it entertaining watching people who didn’t know Brittany interact with her for the first time. 

“So are you coming to Kurt’s ‘Cupid’s Club’ dance then Mr Sebastian?” Brittany asked, and immediately Kurt’s stomach plummeted. Why did Brittany have to say that? Oh no… he didn’t want Seb to know about that. Kurt panicked and began mouthing silently, unsure of how to shoo Britt and Artie from the restaurant. 

“His what?” asked Seb, glancing at Kurt, who had decided it was now _his_ turn to plummet his head into his hands.

“The Valentine’s day dance he’s holding for the school? Hasn’t he told you about it-”

“Okay Britt Britt that’s enough from you.” Kurt interrupted, jerking his head to Artie, hoping he’d hurry his girlfriend out. He caught on quickly. 

“Yeah, let’s go Britt. That’s just enough for you.” said Artie, beginning to roll away and grabbing Brittany’s hand in the process. The Cheerleader looked confused for a moment, before shrugging and following him out. 

“Oh, okay. Bye Kurtie’s dolphin!” And with that, the two exited the restaurant, leaving Seb and Kurt sat opposite each other, a silence falling between them. Seb smirked, deciding to speak first. 

“Valentine’s day dance?” he questioned, and Kurt scrunched his face up in irritation. “What was she talking about?” Groaning, Kurt drooped his head and gave in. 

“Ok, fine. I’m holding a dance entitled ‘Cupid’s Club’ to raise funding for my Football team.” he admitted, shrugging his shoulders and reaching over to his water, fiddling with the straw idly. Seb chuckled. 

“Okay, well why haven’t you told me about it?”

“I-”

“Kurt?” Seb interrupted before Kurt had an opportunity to talk, his tone lower and expression more serious. “Are you embarrassed of me?” 

Okay, that was not what Kurt was expecting. 

“What? Hell no, why would I be embarrassed of you? You’re like the least embarrassing boyfriend I could think of.” he exclaimed, as Seb shrugged and sighed, apparently not all that convinced. Kurt could hardly believe that was really what he was thinking, and it pained him that those kinds of thoughts ever crossed his mind. “I’d be embarrassed of you if everytime we were in public together you belted out a song and serenaded me. And lucky for you, you don’t do that, so I keep you around.”

“Okay, then why didn’t you tell me about this dance of yours?” God, this felt like an interrogation. There felt no point lying, the last thing Kurt wanted was for Seb to think he was embarrassed of him, which was so far from the truth it felt impossible. The best thing to do was to admit the truth. So Kurt took a deep breath, sighed and began to speak. 

“I didn’t want to rush things… This thing that we have, it’s going so well. I don’t want to screw it up.”

“Kurt, this thing that we have will not be ruined by me taking you to a school dance. What did you think was going to happen? I show up and see this incredible event you’ve planned and see you having fun with your friends and think ‘oh God I couldn’t possibly date that incredible guy’ then break up with you?” Kurt couldn’t help but smile at this, giggling slightly and shaking his head.

Apparently, Seb did in fact want to go with him, so Kurt decidedly reached across the table and took his boyfriends hands into his own. 

“Okay, fine. Sebastian Smythe, would you do me the honour of attending the Cupid’s Club dance with me?” Seb grinned and placed his free hand over the top of their joined one’s, giving Kurt a hard, determined look. 

“I would love to.”

***

Blaine had to admit, the dance Kurt had planned was beautiful. Mesmerising in fact. He supposed he should’ve expected it, what with the way the boy planned his dad’s wedding in less than a week, but it still amazed him all the same as he approached the Football field.

There were fairy lights strewn up everywhere and a large bonfire burning in the centre of the field, protected by a thin wire so no one got too close, and Blaine could spot Burt Hummel manning the fire, shooing away kids if they tried to get under the rope. There was a long table with food and drinks on it, it looked homemade, as well as a large wooden stage set up on the far end of the field. Kurt really had pulled out all the stops, and it was completely worth it. 

“Kurt, this is incredible.” Blaine heard Santana gushing to Kurt, a red cup in her hand as she swayed along to the music. Approaching the two, Kurt laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Thanks San. Although I have to ask, is that punch in your cup or did you bring your own drink?” At this, Santana simply giggled and swayed, almost answering Kurt’s question at the way she slurred over her words. 

“Why would you think so little of me?”

“Because I can smell it.” said Kurt bluntly, although Blaine could see a smile tugging at his lips. Santana smirked and leaned in close. 

“Don’t tell anyone.” she whispered, before giggling and stumbling off, leaving Blaine and Kurt stood alone by the fire. 

“Well she’s drunk.” commented Kurt, Blaine laughing and nodded his head at the boy. 

“She most definitely is.” For a moment, the two stood in a slightly uncomfortable quiet, watching the crowd dance and sing loudly, all high on excited energy (or high on something else). Either way, Blaine was just happy they were having a good time, for Kurt’s sake mostly. 

“So... uh, having fun?” asked the boy suddenly, hands now stuffed into his pockets, which immediately drew Blaine’s attention to his outfit. He wore a light wash blue shirt that was buttoned down below his chest, partnered with a black leather jacket and dark, skin-tight jeans. Blaine's breath hitched in his throat as his body went suddenly numb. He tried really hard not to gape, but it was hard. The outfit hugged Kurt's body delectably, causing Blaine's bottom lip to tremble. More simply put, Kurt looked hot. 

Blaine immediately felt a sudden rush electrify his charged body and head southward, causing him to shift uncomfortably in his outfit, which he felt stupid in now knowing _his_ ensemble was not nearly as great as Kurt’s. _God_ , of course he couldn’t pull off low waisted jeans and a low buttoned shirt and leather jacket. Hell no. How could _he_ , Blaine Devon Anderson ever compete with-

“Blaine? Blaine, I asked if you were having a- a good time?” Kurt asked with a shaking voice, cutting into Blaine’s thought process with a swift sweep. “Oh, are you not enjoying yourself? It’s the decorations isn’t it? I knew it, they’re too much aren’t they? I should’ve known, my motto is less is more, and for some reason I went all out with the hearts decor-”

“Kurt! Stop, slow down there.” Blaine quickly interrupted, turning and taking Kurt’s shoulders and turning them so they were face to face, or as close as. There was a large height difference after all. But alas, he looked at him with a serious, genuine expression, smiling in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Kurt grinned and sighed at him, as Blaine tried to resist the flutter in his stomach as Kurt’s breath patterned his own skin. Push it off, Blaine. “This dance is amazing, you’re amazing. And you’ve done a great job, okay? You can relax.” At this, to Blaine’s relief, Kurt smiled and mouthed a _‘thank you’_ at him. For a moment, they stood there, as if Blaine had forgotten he was gripping onto Kurt’s bicep rather firmly, so quickly shook his head and regretfully released the boy, who tilted his head back as if he were stretching it. 

“Well, I’ve gotta go. Seb’s probably looking for me-”

“Wait, Seb is-” 

“Hey, _Blaine_.” 

Blaine groaned in annoyance. He knew that voice anywhere. Turning, he saw none other than Sebastian Smyhte coming up from behind Kurt, looping an arm around his boyfriends shoulder in a possessive manner, as if he were saying: ‘ _Oh look how tall I am. Even if you were dating Kurt, you wouldn’t be able to do this because you’re so short.’_ That properly wasn’t accurate, but that’s what it felt like for Blaine. 

“Hello Sebastian.” replied Blaine through gritted teeth, glancing down an inch to read Kurt’s expression, that to his surprise, looked slightly uncomfortable. He seemed to have frozen under the weight of Seb’s arm, as his eyes flicked around at the cluster of dancing students in worry, when a realisation clicked in Blaine’s head. Kurt hadn’t come out properly yet, only to Glee, so of course he didn’t want Seb flaunting their relationship to the school, plain as day. Blaine’s eyebrows furrowed in worry, he didn’t want Kurt feeling uncomfortable, especially at a dance he worked so hard to create.

“Great party, huh? Kurt did such a good job making this Football field look so amazing, wouldn’t you agree Blaine?” drawled Sebastian, as Blaine smiled with his lips pressed together in a thin, tight line. 

“I think Kurt did an amazing job.” And of course, as per usual, silence followed. After the little singing battle fiasco, things had been rather rigid between he and Kurt, even more so now Sebastian was standing _right_ there. Suddenly, out of what was probably pure uncomfortableness, Kurt slipped out from under Seb’s arm and began to retreat from the two, walking backwards as he spoke. 

“I’m gonna go get some punch. Hopefully it’s not spiked by now.” Kurt jokily crossed his finger and grimaced, before chuckling and making his way through the crowd. Blaine watched him retreat, noticing Quinn appear from the hustle and bustle of students and grab the boy's hand, dragging him into the crowd. Blaine chuckled after the two, before turning his attention back to Seb, who was standing, towering over him threateningly. 

“So, what are you doing here Blaine?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that question? I’m here supporting my friend Kurt. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here supporting my _fucking_ boyfriend, which is apprently an idea that you can’t quite seem to grasp.” Seb spat angrily, seething to himself. Blaine pinched his mouth together, glaring at the boy, who seemed to be mulling his next words over carefully. To Blaine’s surprise, Seb’s gaze softened and he exhaled deeply, before continuing with a forced, calm tone. 

“Look, things have been weird between us ever since the- the, uh… incident.” At this, they both simultaneously looked down at the ground in remembrance. “But I just want to be clear. You’re full of shit, Blaine. You can’t seem to grasp the idea that Kurt didn’t choose you, he chose me. And here you are, frolicking through life in this fairytale world where everyone gets their happy ending. But this is the real word, and your whole prince charming ‘saviour’ act is pissing me off. Kurt is happy, accept it. You don’t have Kurt, you will never have Kurt, so just fucking move on.” Finally, the boy finished with a shuddering sigh, as Blaine stood, stunned. He didn’t want to admit how much Seb’s little speech hurt him, as the two continued to glare at each other with mutual disdain. Blaine couldn’t think of much to say, although, there was one fact flickering in his head that he just couldn’t quite put out, no matter how hard he tried. 

“You cuss a lot.” Blaine stated his jumbled thought process before he could himself, and tried to fight his feelings of regret as Seb scoffed and folded his arms threateningly. 

“What?”

“I said you cuss a lot. You can’t seem to go two sentences without dropping the ‘f bomb’. Frankly, it’s obnoxious and annoying. Makes you seem like kind of a douche.”

“Fuck you Anderson.” Seb answered immediately, as Blaine chuckled and sarcastically threw his hands up. 

“Woah, you kiss Kurt with that mouth?”

“You bet I do. Now, if you don’t mind Blaine, I would love for you to _butt_ out of mine and Kurt’s relationship, it’s none of your business.” 

“You’re right, it is none of my business and for that I apologise.” admitted Blaine, eyes now flicking over to the stage as he spoke, where Sam had finished his set and was exiting the platform to applause. An idea sparked in his head, and Blaine smirked. “I’ll leave you alone, honestly I will. You and Kurt are- you’re nice together, even though I think Kurt deserves better. But I just want to do something first.”

And with that, Blaine began marching with a determined fire in his eyes towards the stage, song ideas bouncing around his head in a frenzy of lyrics and melodies. He would know the right song to sing when he was up on the stage, it would come to him with just one look at Kurt's face, but for now, all Blaine needed to do was convince Artie, who was manning the stage, to allow him to sing.

“Artie! I need to talk to you.” Blaine called to the boy, who he was luckily still on relatively good terms with after leaving the Glee club. It took a bit of convincing, but he was eventually allowed onto the platform with semi-open arms. Blaine jogged up and headed towards the large piano, where he took a seat and began to speak into the microphone.

“Uh, hi. Good evening everyone. My name is Blaine and- and I am going to sing to you.” He began to play the opening melody, song selection decided. The specific tune he was going for was usually a very peppy party song, but the lyrics seemed to fit his situation, so Blaine just wanted to sing it acoustic. A piano arrangement and his voice was all he needed. “This is a slow song, so I suggest all couples take to the dance floors.” 

There was a quiet shuffling through the darkness, though Blaine couldn’t really see with the spotlight blinding him, though he could vaguely spot the recognisable outline of one Kurt Hummel leant up against the snack tables, his _boyfriend_ lost in the crowd. Blaine could do this. He took a deep breath, and opened his mouth, the words tumbling out in tidal waves. 

_You are the guy that I've been dreaming of ever since I was a little boy_

_You are the guy that I've been dreaming of ever since I was a little boy_

He altered the lyrics slightly, but Blaine thought an acoustic version of _‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You’_ was an appropriate choice. Blaine tried his best not to meet Kurt’s eye as he sang, because truthfully, the song wasn’t for Kurt. Sure, it was _about_ Kurt, but he didn't want to sing directly at him and make it strikingly obvious that it was him whose was singing to. In fact, the song was for himself, to let out those emotions so Blaine could, as Sebastian had put it, finally move on. 

_One,_

_I'm biting my tongue_

_Two,_

_He's kissin' on you_

_Three,_

_Oh, why can't you see?_

_One! Two! Three! Four!_

_The word's on the streets and it's on the news_

_I'm not gonna teach him how to dance with you_

_He's got two left feet and he bites my moves_

_I'm not gonna teach him how to dance, dance, dance, dance_

_The second I do, I know we're gonna be through_

_I'm not gonna teach him how to dance with you_

_He don't suspect a thing. I wish he'd get a clue_

_I'm not gonna teach him how to dance, dance, dance, dance_

***

Sebastian was in a quiet, seething rage. It wasn’t often that he didn’t get what he wanted, or when someone didn’t do what he told them to do, especially not young, impressionable gays. But it seemed as though this young, impressionable gay was quite stubborn, as even though he had just been smacked down in an intense singing battle, was still going after his man.

He watched intently as Blaine hunched himself over the piano and sang his heart out about the boy that Seb told him he couldn’t have, that Seb told him was off limits, that even Kurt told him was off limits, and gritted his teeth. Blaine didn't need to be look directly at Kurt for Seb to know who it was about. And at that thought, he looked over at his boyfriend, who was now approaching him with a sorrowful look in his eye

“You alright?” Seb whispered. 

Kurt glanced up at him. “Yeah I’m okay.” They both turned back to Blaine singing, who seemed to be really getting into it. Emotion was pouring out of him, and Sebastian couldn’t help but feel slightly sorry for the boy, but not sorry enough. Kurt simply gazed at him with a meaningful look in his eyes, apparently the performance was moving him. It only made Seb feel sick.

“He sounds good doesn’t he?” remarked Kurt suddenly, his tone soft and voice shaking. 

Seb breathed a sigh of annoyance. “Yeah, he sounds okay.”

“I love this song, but I never realised how… sad the lyrics were until it was done acoustically. Or rather, the lyrics aren’t sad at all and it’s just the way he’s singing it.” Seb nodded bluntly, setting his jaw still as he refrained from snapping. Kurt didn’t seem to notice however, as he simply pressed on. “But I like Blaine’s version it- it’s so raw and emotional.” That was it, Seb couldn’t stop himself. 

“Are you blind?” he blurted it out before he could stop himself, and Kurt turned on him, confusion written in his features. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Can’t you see what’s right in front of you? Blaine isn’t just singing to entertain these people, he’s singing to someone.”

“Like who? That boyfriend of his? Because this is kind of a weird love song to sing to someone you’re in a relationship with-”

“You know what, forget it.” Seb spat angrily, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning away from Kurt, once again returning to his stance of glaring at the stage bitterly. 

“No I’m serious, who do you think he’s singing this too-”

“I said leave it alone!” he snapped before he could help himself, and instantly felt awful for his words after watching Kurt jump back in fright. 

“What is up with you tonight? You’ve been acting so weird and- and being so rude to Blaine. I don’t get it. You begged me to bring you out here tonight and now you’re suddenly acting like a dick towards all my friends.” 

“You can’t seriously think that?” 

“Well actually I do.” Kurt growled, turning on Seb and raising his eyebrows in irritation, folding his arms. It looked as though there was more bothering him, and Seb really wanted to know what it was, for no other reason than subconsciously stirring the pot, but in complete honesty, he was only half aware he was doing that. 

“Anything else?”

“Yes actually. What is up with you constantly putting a possessive arm around my shoulder tonight? It's sweet and I don't mind it when we're at your house or at mine, but there is no need to flaunt our relationship in public, and at my own _school_ no less! I’ve told you-” Suddenly, Kurt stopped himself, glancing around him as he realised the volume at which he was speaking, and lowered his voice so he was barely whispering, yet still somehow had a bitter edge to his words. “I’ve told you I’m not out at school yet, only Glee. I thought you’d be respectful of that.” 

“I am respectful of that, believe me, and I am sorry if I’ve been making you feel uncomfortable, but you’re missing the point of what I’m trying to say.” At this, he subtly glanced towards Blaine, who was still hammering on the keys and singing his heart out, voice cracking with emotion. Sebastian had never hated him more. “Kurt, you’re oblivious. I’m begging you to just open your eyes and look at what’s right in front of you and then maybe... well maybe this relationship can actually work.”

And with that, Seb turned on his heel and began to walk away, pushing through all of the crowded students, ignoring their irritated protests and stomping onward. Seb didn’t know where he was going, and wasn’t quite sure why he was angry at Kurt, or whether it was Kurt he was really angry at, he just wanted to get out of there. Away from the dance, away from the students, away from Kurt, and most of all, away from Blaine _fucking_ Anderson. 

*** 

Kurt was stunned. Gobsmacked even. 

One second he and Seb were watching Blaine’s incredibly moving performance, and the next Seb was shouting at him, and telling him that he was blind and needed to 'open his eyes to what was right in front of him'. Kurt supposed he should feel bad for snapping, but he didn’t. What was Seb doing causing a scene like that? It felt so unnecessary, and Kurt wanted - no - he needed to know what was going on with his boyfriend. 

So without another thought, Kurt began to run. 

He decided to follow the path at which Seb had taken, darting through and around kids, trying to find the boy. He raced behind the bleachers and out into the parking lot, where with a moment of searching, spotted a silhouette against the night sky trudging towards a parked motorcycle, it's outline describing none other than the tall and lean figure of Sebastian Smythe. 

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?” Kurt shouted before he could stop himself, surprising himself at how furious his tone was. Seb turned in shock at this, glaring at him. 

“What’s what supposed to mean?”

“What you said, about if I opened my eyes then ‘maybe his relationship could actually work’.” Kurt quoted, spitting out the words as tears stung his eyes fearlessly. Sebastian seemed to hesitate, pupils shining under the harsh glow of the streetlamp. 

“It means that I feel like there’s someone else on your mind.”

“And who else would be on my mind other than you?” exclaimed Kurt, watching as Seb stuffed his hands in his pockets and gazed off in the distance, towards the Football pitch, where laughter manipulated the air. Kurt turned and followed the direction of look, until he saw none other than Blaine Anderosn, shuffling off the stage after his performance, accepting the applause from the audience. Instantly, it seemed to click in Kurt’s head as to what Seb had been insinuating. He turned back on the boy with fury. “Blaine? Are you fucking serious?”

“Well what else am I supposed to think?”

“I don’t know, maybe that Blaine and I are _friends_ and nothing more, that I don't like him? I don’t get it, am I not allowed to be friends with other guys and not have any romantic interest in them? Even if he did have feelings for me, which he doesn’t anymore by the way, nothing would ever happen because I like you.” 

“Well did you ever have feelings for him?” 

God, this felt like an interrogation. 

“I- I guess, kinda when we first met but- but that went away very quickly.” Kurt stuttered, though Seb didn’t seem all that convinced. 

“Okay, well do you have feelings for him now? And don’t- don’t lie to me.” 

“I- I don’t…” Kurt didn’t understand what was going on, he just wanted his boyfriend back, he wanted everything to go back to normal. He didn’t have feelings for Blaine and Kurt couldn't see why Seb ever thought that he did? “I really don’t understand where all this is coming from!” 

Seb’s eyes suddenly turned glassy, shining against the moonlight, as he looked away in irritation, heaving. Kurt felt helpless. He didn’t know what there was to say or do to make everything okay again. After a moment, as the air just grew thicker with tension as the seconds ticked by, Seb seemed to have decided exactly what he needed to do, because he faced Kurt with a hard, vexed and determined flare roaring in his eyes. 

“Figure your shit out Kurt, then we’ll talk.” He turned and pulled his helmet on, climbing aboard his motorcycle and bringing the engine to life. 

“Seb where are you going?”

“I’m going home!” The wheels of the bike skidded on the tarmac, as the boy began to pull out of the parking lot. Kurt chased after him for a few steps desperately, tears now blinding his vision, before slowing back to a halt. 

“Seb, please! Let’s talk about this!” But it was no use. Sebastian Smythe was gone with the wind, the lights of his bike obscuring the night, as he rode off into the traffic with a vengeful roar of his engine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did I have so much fun writing that argument? I was really getting into it lmao
> 
> Also, little anecdote, I finished editing this chapter earlier between some of my classes and clicked upload and my wifi decided to cut out and it deleted all my edits. so imma go cry now this took forever :)


	24. Blame it on the Alcohol

A week had passed since Kurt and Sebastian had endured their little dispute, and Kurt felt like complete and utter shit.

“Well has he texted you?” Quinn had asked after the fight was a fresh wound, rubbing his back in a comforting manner. She, Santana, Brittany and himself had all been sprawled on Kurt’s bed, watching heart wrenching romcoms in some sort of an attempt to heal him. 

“No, he hasn’t.” Kurt had groaned, pouting in upset. “Do you think _I_ should text him?”   


“No!” they exclaimed in unison, and Kurt noticed from the corner of his eye Santana grabbing his phone and scrolling through his messages, just to be sure he really was telling the truth. Which he was, by the way. Kurt hasn't texted or called his boyfriend, or at least he thought they were still boyfriends, he hoped they were. 

His father hadn’t been much help either. All of his suggestions to mend Kurt’s heart involved burning something, and Kurt really didn’t have the emotional capacity for that.

Blaine however, seemed to offer some relatively sage advice. Well, it was less advice and more of an acknowledgement, but Kurt appreciated the sentiment all the same. 

“You- you what? Are you guys broken up?” he had asked in shock after Kurt explained the story to him, as the two boys sat in the cafeteria, discussing over their meals. 

“I don’t think so, he just kinda ditched me.”

“Well he’s a dick, you don’t deserve that. A mature person would have stayed and talked the whole ordeal out.” 

Blaine made a fair point at that, and after mulling it over, Kurt found himself agreeing. Seb had been  _ extremely _ immature that night, and really it shouldn’t be him feeling the need to apologise, it should be Seb. 

After that, Kurt had found himself spending more and more time in Blaine’s company. He liked how easy it was with him, he didn’t need to think or worry, he could just  _ be _ . Kurt even surprised himself with how happy he was around Blaine, what with the premise of Sebastian and Kurt’s quarrel sort of surrounding the idea of Blaine Anderson, but Kurt pushed past the fact and just enjoyed spending time with his friend.

If Seb saw that he was hanging out with Blaine as much as he was, he would flip, but Kurt couldn’t bring himself to care. He just wanted to live his life without any implications from the boy right now. If they eventually made up, so be it. But if not, well… Kurt would deal with it. 

“Oh my dear lord.” Blaine breathed quietly, staring at his phone in disbelief. The two were sitting in the library, catching up on homework and making light conversation, the room so quiet you could hear every turn of a page or movement another student made. Kurt looked up at his friend from behind his textbook. 

“What is it?” 

Blaine slid his phone across the table, so Kurt could grab it.

“Read this text Rachel just sent out.”

Kurt raised his eyebrows and glanced down at the device, which bore a text message, written in all caps and large levels of enthusiasm. 

_ PARTY AT MY PLACE BITCHESSSS! _

_ GET URSELF A DESIGNATED DRIVER CAUSE _

_ THINGS ARE GONNA GET WILD! _

Kurt scoffed and rolled his eyes, passing the phone back in Blaine’s direction, who looked shocked at Kurt’s off-hand reaction. 

“Wha- Kurt, aren’t you excited?”

“Am I excited to attend a _Rachel_ _Berry_ party where absolutely no one will get wasted? No thank you.”

“Come on Kurt, don’t be a buzzkill. I can’t even believe Rachel’s inviting me, I’m not even in Glee.”

“She likes you.”

“I won’t go if you don’t go.”

“Uh-uh, no way. The only thing I’m slightly tempted by is the fact that I want to see the inside of Rachel Berry’s house. I bet it’s littered with her awards and accomplishments that her dads hung up everywhere for the world to see. It would just give me even more of a reason to despise that girl.” At this, Blaine smirked and leant forward in his chair so he gazed at Kurt, giving his best ‘puppy dog’ eyes. 

“Kuuurt.” he whined, fluttering his eyelashes and pushing his lip out in a pout. “For me?”

“I hate your puppy eyes.” stated Kurt, shaking his head and returning to his text book, but Blaine didn’t give up. 

“Come on. You  _ wuuuv _ them!” 

At this, Kurt pinched his lips together and smirked, seeing the desperation in Blaine’s eyes clear as day. He would feel bad not to go, Blaine would be completely left alone full of a room where half of the people in there still hated him for ditching Glee, and the other half would barely tolerate his existence. Kurt groaned and closed his eyes. He supposed it would be a good distraction from everything going on with Sebastian. And who knows, it might be fun?

“Fine. But I’m not being designated driver. If I’m going to this thing I’m at least gonna get wasted.” Blaine grinned and slapped the table with victory. 

“That’s the spirit Kurt! We’ll have Finn drive us.”

“Wait, are you drinking?” asked Kurt incredulously, and Blaine nodded with enthusiasm. 

“Hell yeah, I’m drinking! This is gonna be so fun!”

Kurt giggled. Excited Blaine was far too endearing. 

“I’m intrigued, I’ve never seen drunk Blaine Anderson before.”

“Well you’re about to meet him! According to Santana I am a ‘happy, bubbly drink’ but can be kinda whiny. Which I’d say is pretty good.” 

“Well, it depends how many drinks I’ve had, but if you get me past six I turn into a stripper.”

“A stripper?” Blaine repeated in surprise, and Kurt nodded, ducking down so he could return to his text book, but continued speaking.    


“Yeah, and apparently Brittany does too. So that should be interesting.”

“Mm, very interesting.”

***

Blaine was back at Kurt’s place, standing in front of his friend's mirror while adjusting his knitted sweater. Kurt was on the other side of the room, rummaging through his closet for an outfit.

“Remind me what you’re wearing?” At this, Blaine looked himself up and down, examining his choice of clothing.

“Uh… I’m wearing a red knitted sweater, a black and white striped shirt and black jeans.”

“Okay, cool.” Kurt nodded, as Blaine watched him in the reflection of the mirror, beginning to move from squatting to stage at the jeans section of his wardrobe, as it seemed he had picked out a pair, to his unusually large collection of button up shirts and neckerchiefs. Blaine smirked 

“Why do you ask?”

“I want to make sure our outfits are coordinated. We may be going  _ ‘wild’ _ tonight, but Kurt Hummel still has standards.”

“Okay, well don’t be too long. We’re supposed to be there in five minutes, and Finn’s waiting for us downstairs.”

“It’s fine, I’m fashionably late to everything.”

Blaine chuckled lightly, before checking himself in the mirror once more, satisfied with his look, Blaine took a seat on Kurt’s bed. He watched his friend as he examined every item of clothing with a scrutianiting expression, and once pleased with his choices, made his way into the bathroom to get dressed.

Ever since Kurt’s 'Cupid’s Club' dance a week back, Blaine had found himself feeling surprisingly easy with his friend, their relationship no longer felt so strained. Perhaps his song had done the trick, and helped him officially move on. Of course, if Kurt did come up to him randomly, saying he wanted to go out, Blaine would obviously say yes, but if that day never came, he was honestly fine with that. What would come would come, and he had officially accepted that now.

And along with that, ever since Sebastian and Kurt’s argument, Kurt had been spending a lot more time with him. Blaine assumed it was his coping strategy to a heartbreak. Although, the two weren’t even broken up yet, they had only fought. Perhaps they would make it past this little blip in their relationship, perhaps not. Either way, Blaine knew he would be by Kurt’s side no matter what.

“Okay, I’m ready.” 

Finally, Kurt slipped out of his bathroom, posing for Blaine in a comical, celebrity-like way. He wore a teal button up shirt that had small canaries on it, partnered with cream skinny jeans and a neckerchief. Blaine grinned.

“You look great Kurt.” he gushed, taking in the outfit once more, as Kurt giggled and blushed profusely. 

“Okay then, let the ‘Rachel Berry Trainwreck Extravaganza begin!”

***

Enetering Rachel Berry's house forced Kurt to swallow a groan. On the drive over, he held a spark of hope with him, that perhaps Rachel really was planning an all out, incredible party for the Glee club. But to no one’s surprise, Kurt knew as he walked through that door what was awaiting him. 

Rachel was decked in a hideous ensemble, handing out pink drink tickets and wine coolers, with delicate violin music playing in the background.

“This is gonna be like a dinner party.” muttered Blaine into Kurt’s ear, as the two glanced around the room, where other students sat on the floor or on some form of chair, all looking like they wanted to leave. Kurt smirked and glanced at the stage.

“What are the chances that Rachel's gonna be up on that stage tonight,  _ ‘entertaining’ _ us.” 

“Almost 100%.” countered Blaine immediately, eyes scanning their surroundings, before a faint and meak laugh escaped his lips. “I’ll bet you 5 dollars that she’ll be belting out some old Broadway showstopper within the first half hour.” Kurt smirked and thought this over for a second, brain spinning with mathematics and character assessment. He took bets  _ very _ seriously. 

“Nah, more like twenty minutes.”

“You're on Hummel.” Blaine threatened in a low voice, holding out his hand for Kurt to shake, who accepted it with a playful scowl. Suddenly, breaking the two apart and calling the attention of the rest of the room, Rachel lifted her wine cooler with a half hearted proposal.

“Let’s party!”

And from there, chaos descended, along with the group's sanity. Puck cracked open the liquor cabinet and everyone went at it like thirsty pack animals. Kurt chose, for the first section of the party at least, to sit by the bar and chat with Finn, who had chosen to stay sober for the night. 

About twenty minutes into the evening, Blaine stumbled over to Kurt, curls slightly loose from their usual gel helmet with a wide grin on his face. He had his arms in the air, cup in one hand, waving them around and moving his hips to the beat of the music. 

“Kurt fucking HUUMMEEELLL!” he shouted loudly, before giggling madly and taking a sip from his cup, coming to a stop before the two boys, swaying. Kurt smiled. 

“Wash your mouth out with soap Blaine Anderson!” he exclaimed sarcastically, watching the boy continue to titter. “You never cuss!”

“Fuck all that shit! I’m a rebel tonight Kurt!” Kurt smiled and raised his eyebrows, Finn and him sharing a look. Drunk Blaine was actually kind of funny, even more so than excited Blaine. He was so much more relaxed and flexible and fun. But suddenly, out of nowhere, Blaine’s expression grew serious as he studied Kurt with curiosity. “Have you drunk much yet?”

“Uh, not yet. I haven’t had anything actually.” 

“Well good sir, you need to drink something. Specifically a beverage I choose because whatever I’m drinking tastes amazing and feels so good.” As he spoke, Blaine turned and stumbled behind the bar, pulling open the mini fridge. 

“You’re in charge.” mused Kurt, just as Blaine took out a green bottle and placed it on the table with less coordination than a concussed troll, grinning happily. 

“Drink up Hummel!”

***

Blaine’s head was spinning. The room was an array of people and flashes of light, but despite his slipping consciousness, it felt as though he had never had so much fun in his entire life. He could vaguely make out a cluster of his friends crowded around Santana licking something off of Brittany, who had been stripped down to her bra and a pair of shorts for the past hour. Blaine vaguely remembered Kurt saying something about how he turned into a stripper drunk, which when he thought about it, was probably one of the reasons he had handed him that drink at the beginning of the night… _no_. He was getting over Kurt, he didn’t like Kurt and Kurt didn’t like him. 

_ Push away those thoughts Anderson.  _

Though as hard as he tried, Blaine couldn’t help but picture Kurt going crazy and peeling his deliciously tight, button up shirt and swinging it around freely, much like Brittany was doing. The imagery however, as hard as Blaine tried, made him giggle and play with the straw in his red cup, sipping at it as innocently as possible, as if he were trying to hide the dirty thoughts playing around his mind.

At this, he glanced over at Kurt, who was leant up against the wall (fully clothed) while laughing heavily at the goings-on in the middle of the room, cheering and whooping as he traced the rim of his cup with his index finger. His jeans hugged him deliciously, and now that his neckerchief was loosened slightly and his shirt was unbuttoned down to his chest, he seemed so much more relaxed in his environment. 

Suddenly, Blaine found himself wandering over to the boy, dodging past other party-goers milling around in a drunk state. 

“Kurt.” he slurred at the boy, who jerked his head up in acknowledgment, a ditsy smile on his face. 

“Mhm.” 

“Kurt... _Kurt_ _Elizabef Hummel_.” repeated Blaine again with more defiance, though he didn’t quite know why. 

“Yeah, what?” 

“I was just standing over ver, like right over  _ ver _ and I was finking to myself like, you look,  _ really _ good tonight. Like, really fucking good.” Blaine, for once, didn’t regret what he was saying, especially not when he saw Kurt smirk and grin at him so wildly. 

“Can I tell you somefing?” Blaine hummed and bobbed his head lazily, “These jeans make my ass look  _ amazing _ .” And again, Blaine nodded, this time in agreement, making a soft ‘ah’ sound. Kurt giggled, jerking his head towards Quinn, who was walking by. “Mhm, ask Quinn she said it not me.”

“I did. If you weren’t gay Kurt, I’d totally tap that.” the girl called, as Kurt raised his cup at her. 

“Love ya gurl!”

“You too gurl!”

“Hands off! Kurt’s mine.” Blaine shouted before he could stop himself, much like a baby would probably. Throwing his hands up in the air, Kurt violently shook his head. 

“Bitch I’m no one’s property. Like, I’m an independent guy and I ain’t got  _ no _ boyfriend to own me or  _ nuffing _ .” 

“Preach!”

“You smell good.” Observed Blaine happily, who realised he was now leaning in uncomfortably close to Kurt, drawing in his scent. A mixture of alcohol (obviously) and some kind of flower. He smiled. “Like really good.”

“Why thank you very much.” Kurt said, tossing invisible hair over his shoulder and giggling. The boy was so much more chilled out when he was tipsy, not that he was ever uptight, but he seemed to be less put together, in a good way. Blaine sighed and groaned. 

“I just find you so confusing. How can  _ one _ guy be that good at- at everfing. You got amazing  _ hair _ and amazing  _ body _ and eyes and now you smell good I just don’t  _ geeeet _ it.”

“You know, you’re amazing too.”

“Not as amazing as you are.” gushed Blaine once more, receiving a blush from Kurt as he ducked his head and shrugged, before reaching up and trailing his finger up Blaine’s arm, almost as though he didn’t know he was doing. As his hand moved, it surprisingly didn’t cause Blaine to shudder or tingle. It just sort of… happened? It was unnerving, but Blaine ignored it, as Kurt grinned broadly, addressing the room, though his words were aimed at Blaine.    
  
“Well, I think somebody needs another drink!"

“Fuck yeah!” he cheered, raising his cup into the air and cheering. “Woohoo!”

***

“Strip faster Hummel! I’m begging you strip faassteeerr!” Santana whined from across the room, waving her arms in the air, weepy. Blaine giggled from his space on the couch and gazed after Kurt, who had entered his ‘stripper drunk’ phase, and was now in just in his jeans, shirt in hand, spinning it around his finger while singing along to the music at the top of his lungs. Blaine had been trying not to stare ever since the ordeal had started, because when he did, there was an obvious tightening around the crotch area of his pants, and he’d rather not deal with that kind of taunting right now. 

“Damn Hummel, somebody got some abs!” Quinn catcalled, as Puck simply scoffed and shook his head, clutching the wall for support. 

“Not as good as mine.”

“Oooh, wanna give us a show Puckerman?”

“Yes! Everyone take their shirts off right now!” hollered Brittany, and a cheered rippled throughout the room. 

Despite the fact Blaine did join in their whoops, he wasn’t quite in the mood to begin taking off his clothes in front of everyone, which was why he was so very thankful when Rachel got to her feet and shouted to the room, “Spin the bottle! Who wants to play spin the bottle?” 

With an equal level of enthusiasm shown to the idea of everyone removing layers of clothing, the group shrieked in excitement, making their way towards the middle of the room, high on excited energy. God, they were all gonna have awful hangovers tomorrow, but Blaine tried not to think about it. 

“ _ I’m gonna kiss lots of people _ !” he sing-songed, waving his hands in the air as he dawdled over to the circle, where everyone had begun arranging themselves. The game leapt into action immediately, beginning with Sam making out with Brittany, only being separated when Santana pried them apart. Blaine giggled and made a face of disgust, looking across the circle to where Kurt was sitting, shirt still discarded (God knows where) and laughing and giggling as he clutched Quinn for support. Blaine grinned. Kurt looked cute.

The game continued much like that. Rachel hung off of Finn’s lips when the bottle landed on him, Puck made out with Lauren, Rachel and Quinn gave each other a peck on the lips (though Blaine felt like Quinn wanted more than that, gathering by the way when Rachel pulled back she stayed in that position, lips still pushed out, ready for another), until Brittany kissed Tina and it was her turn to spin the bottle. 

“Who’s it gonna land oooonnnn?” Britt slurred with excitement, rubbing her hands together as the bottle rotated, until it began to slow and eventually pointed towards the person Blaine was honestly hoping it wouldn’t. Half-naked, perferly cute yet somehow hot at the same time, Kurt Hummel, who looked annoyingly shocked and thrilled at the same time. 

And then, much to Artie and Blaine’s dismay, they were kissing. Kurt and Brittany were kissing, and it was fucking heated. His hand cupped her cheek and Brittany had very obviously slipped in her tongue. Blaine felt his heart rate accelerate as Kurt brought his hand to her thigh and Britt sucked on his lower lip, both of them giggling. 

Eventually, they broke apart, but instead of retreating back to their original spaces in the circle like everyone else did, they remained very close to each other, noses practically nuzzling. 

“Holy shit. Holy shit you’re good at that.” breathed Kurt, and Blaine looked down, gnawing on his lip as a distraction. 

“If I was as good at math as I am at kissing, I would be a straight A student by now.” 

“It’s impressive.” And then they just sort of stared at each other, and Blaine felt like he was intruding on something, something personal. He felt like crying, which may be a mixture of the alcohol running through his system and his genuine fondness towards Kurt Hummel. Thankfully, Rachel assessed the situation and clapped her hands with finality. 

“Uh, okay… I think we’ve had enough of that.” Kurt and Brittany finally retreated from each other, settling back into their seats as they giggled madly, both of them leaning to the person nearest to stop themselves from falling backwards. But the worst part was, Kurt looked thrilled, he looked far too happy with himself, and he wouldn’t stop gazing at Brittany like she was the best thing in the world. It was unsettling, and apparently not just to Blaine, because it seemed like the rest of the group were all gawking at the pair in shock.

_ Very _ unsettling. 

***

Seb had been sitting at his desk for half an hour, cell phone in his hand as he spun it around his fingers, contemplating. He was missing Kurt. He missed his voice, his laugh, his smile, everything. While he knew Kurt and him were still very much together and exclusive, Seb did have this worry that Kurt had forgotten about him. He hadn’t texted or called or nothing, and Seb was embarrassed to admit that he himself had left a very needy and desperate voicemail, that he just wanted to erase. 

The problem was, he had kept ringing Kurt, but received no reply, until it came to the eleventh time he had called, and the dialling had thankfully ceased, and Seb heard noise and talking on the other line. His heart did a somersault. 

“Kurt, you picked up! I’ve been calling you all night, and I’ve left a really, uh…  _ needy _ voicemail, so just delete that, please. But I just- I just wanted to talk to you, hear your voice-”

But Kurt interrupted before Seb could finish, “ _ Heeeeyyyy _ boyfriend!” he giggled and hiccuped, and Seb had to admit the boy sounded weird. There was a lot of noise on the other end of the phone: crashing and banging and cheers.    


“Uh, Kurt? Are you okay?”

“I have never been  _ better  _ in my whole entire life. I feel so- so amazing and- and… yeah, uh, what- what was I saying?” His words were so slurred Seb could hardly make out what the boy was saying, instantly putting together the puzzle pieces. 

“Kurt, are you drunk?”

“I mean, probably. I’ve been drinking somefing that- that Santana gave me and then another thing that was in a really,  _ really _ tiny glass and it was so strong, but- but it doesn’t matter ‘cause I feel fucking  _ amazing _ ! And guess what?  _ I _ just made out with a  _ girl _ !” 

“You- you what?”

“That’s right! Spin the bottle, bottle landed and I  _ fucking _ kissed that girl mouth of hers right- right there in front of all the Glee peoples and- and  _ Blaine… _ I wonder... hmm, I wonder what  _ Blaine _ is doing right now?” 

“Kurt, this phone call is not healthy for either of us.”

“No, I’m- I’m good, this is  _ good _ . Good-  _ good thing _ ... I just wanted to let you know that I look hot right now, and- and my ass looks  _ amazing _ in these jeans, and- and cause you said I was  _ ‘blind’ _ you’re not here so that is your fault.”

“Wha- Kurt stop talking.”

“No- _no_ we haven’t talked all week and I’m talking to you _right_ now and I like your voice you- you got a ni- a _good_ , good voice.” Seb’s heart ached. He was glad Kurt was talking to him, but obviously he would rather be talking to a sober boyfriend, who had control over what he was saying, and hadn't just kissed someone who wasn't him. He considered just hanging up to save any further damage, but for some reason he couldn’t quite do it. Kurt, however, pressed on with drunken confidence. “And you know what _Mr_ _Smythe…_ if you hadn’t gotten pissed at me about _nuffink_ you- you could be here _right_ now. And we could be like- I dunno, making out in a corner or some shit. But since you got mad at me for no _fucking_ reason, _Brittany_ has taken your place on _ma_ lips. _Mkay,_ I gotta go, Santana’s playing strip poker.”

“Strip poker?”

Kurt giggled, and Seb heard a loud bang, causing him to pull the device away from his ear. “Yeah! I’VE GOT NO SHIRT ON!” screamed Kurt, before beginning to giggle almost madly. He didn’t seem to know what he was doing, and Seb’s face crumpled as he heard another loud crash coming from Kurt’s side of the phone, God knows what that could be. “Okie dokie, buh-bye!”

And then the line went dead, and Kurt was gone. 

***

Finn watched his friends completely lose control of their actions with limited concern. As each one of them consumed more alcohol, they slid simply further and further off the rails, feeling incredibly glad he had chosen to remain sober. Yes, he would be driving almost everyone home later that night, but he’d rather that than be waking up the next day with the worst hangover imaginable, which was for sure what the rest of the group would be experiencing. 

Especially Kurt and Blaine, who seemed to be completely different people now, whether that was a good or bad thing. Either way, they seemed to be enjoying it.

First of all, Blaine was all up on Kurt. Getting weirdly close to the boy, and being very  _ ‘touchy feely’.  _ And surprisingly, or not surprisingly at all, Kurt was enjoying it, if anything, he was spurring Blaine on. Whenever Blaine would just suddenly start complimenting Kurt, whether that be on whining about how good Kurt looked or just gushing on and on until Finn felt like banging his head against the wall, Kurt would just flick invisible hair back and give it right back:

_ “Wanna show me how much you like this ass?” _

_ “Feeling flirty today, Anderson?” _

_ “I’m in line for the British throne and nuffing and no one can tell me I’m not!” _

_ Wait- _ Finn might be getting confused with some of Kurt’s drunken thoughts, which he was happily shouting out for the room here by the way. Either way, Blaine would just blush and giggle then walk away. From what Finn could tell, it was all meaningless banter, but that didn’t mean the two weren’t acting particularly friendly with each other for the rest of the evening. 

That was until they had played sprip poker, a game Finn had decidedly sat out on, and Blaine was there whooping and cheering whenever anyone took off a piece of clothing, but with Kurt, he stayed resolutely silent and simply chewed his lip as the boy discarded every item of clothing he had on, until he was down to his boxers, dancing around the basement like he was, in fact, a stripper. A crowd pleaser, it was safe to say. 

By the end of the night when it was time for him to drive them both home, Finn had to drag the two hiccuping boys from the basement and up the stairs, practically shove them into the back seat of his car, and buckle them in as they wobbled and pushed him off. Once they were safely on the road, Finn looked into the rear-view mirror to see Blaine unbuckling himself and shuffling closer to Kurt, and continued to slide his arms around the other boy’s waist and nuzzle himself in. Surprisingly, Kurt squeaked a little in shock, but eventually hummed and placed his other arm around Blaine, pulling him in.  _ God _ , they were ridiculously oblivious. The amount of times Finn had been forced to listen to Blaine complain about how Kurt didn’t return his feelings and hearing Kurt explain how they were ‘just friends’, but here the two were, practically cuddling in the back seat of his car. Ridiculous. 

“Hey, Blaine. Is it okay if you stay over at mine and Kurt’s tonight? I just don’t want you going home to your parents  _ this _ wasted. Mom and Burt are out anyway.”

“ _ Mkay _ , that’s fine.” And so that’s what happened. 

When they arrived at The Hummel-Hudson’s house, Finn got out of the car, made his way over to Kurt’s door and helped him out, Blaine following after. They didn't refuse his shoulder but rather leaned on it with their whole bodies. The three very inelegantly climbed the stairs, as Finn thanked God that Burt and Carole weren’t around to hear all the racket, otherwise they would all be in far too much trouble. Blaine was then dumped unceremoniously on Kurt’s bed, and Finn felt like moving him to be on the floor, but the boy was out cold within an instant, so Finn shrugged and set about arranging the pillows and blankets, giving him a fair share to make a place on the floor. He dumped his brother into his ‘bed’ and left the room, exhausted as he thought of all the other New Directions waiting at Rachel’s house for him to pick them up and drop them home. He got the feeling he wasn’t going to be sleeping much that night. 

But then, as Finn was just leaving the room, he heard one of the boy’s stir in the darkness and turned to look. To Finn’s complete shock, he saw Kurt arise from his spot on the floor and make his way over to where Blaine was curled up in bed, and crawled in, apparently unaware of what he was doing. He shuffled over and cuddled up to Blaine’s side, looping his arm around the boy’s waist and humming. Finn’s eyebrows shot up and watched as Blaine grinned broadly and settled into the boy’s touch, before going still and slipping back into sleep. He chuckled lightly. 

“Night lil’ bro.” whispered Finn, surprisingly content with himself. He went to leave, before hesitating and turning back to the dark room, smirking. “Take care of him, Blaine… for me.” Then he slipped out of the room, pulling the door shut, and was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've decided I'm gonna start a new fic at some point, cause I've had a bit of a burst of inspiration to write one. It will be quite different from this one, and will be written on this account, so look out for that! :)


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